wax moth

bee moth.

Origin of wax moth

First recorded in 1760–70

The Wax-moth tripped towards the fourth brood-frame where the young bees were busy feeding the babies.

Actions and Reactions |Rudyard Kipling
"Quite between ourselves, I taught them that," cried the Wax-moth.

Actions and Reactions |Rudyard Kipling
The little grey Wax-moth, pressed close in a crack in the alighting-board, had waited this chance all day.

Actions and Reactions |Rudyard Kipling
But the great question in bee-culture is, How to prevent the depredation of the wax-moth?

Soil Culture |J. H. Walden

One would imagine the moth to be an enemy of no consequence, but the wax-moth (Tinea mellonella) is a most formidable enemy.

A Description of the Bar-and-Frame-Hive |W. Augustus Munn

wax moth

a brown pyralid moth, Galleria mellonella, the larvae of which feed on the combs of beehives Also called: honeycomb moth, bee moth