bee moth

noun

moth whose larvae live in and feed on bee honeycombs

• Syn: ↑wax moth, ↑Galleria mellonella

• Hypernyms: ↑pyralid, ↑pyralid moth

• Member Holonyms: ↑Galleria, ↑genus Galleria

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noun

: a dull brownish or ashen moth (Galleria mellonella) whose larva feeds on the wax of the combs of the honeybee fouling the honey and injuring the brood and sometimes destroying weak colonies of bees — called also wax moth

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a brownish pyralid moth, Galleria mellonella, the larvae of which feed on the honeycombs in beehives. Also called wax moth.

[1820-30, Amer.]

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bee moth,

any one of several species of moths that lay their eggs in beehives. The larvae feed on the honeycomb built by the bees.