Melonworm moth
Diaphania hyalinata
The melonworm moth is a small moth from the warm parts of America. As its name tells you, its caterpillar is a melon worm. In warm Florida, it keeps flying all year round.
Lives in
Eastern North America, Central and South America and the Caribbean
Wingspan
2.7 to 3 cm (1.1 to 1.2 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
As its name says, its caterpillars feed on melon plants and their relatives.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 5 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 32 seconds
How big is Melonworm moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Melonworm moth about 12 km/h (7.5 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
In the north it only flies in October and November.
2
In Florida and further south it flies all year, with many families of young one after another.
3
Its wings measure about 27 to 30 millimetres across.
you asked
Most asked questions about Melonworm moth
?Why is it called the melonworm moth?
Because its caterpillars, the melonworms, feed on melon plants.
?Where does the melonworm moth live?
In eastern North America, Central and South America and the Caribbean.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Diaphania hyalinata
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Crambidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Crambidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
Where the facts come from
- Diaphania hyalinata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Alton N. Sparks, Jr.. CC BY 3.0 us, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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