On 24 May 2017 I caught an unfamiliar species in a light trap at Tramore, Co. Waterford (grid reference S577013). I tentatively identified it using British Pyralid Moths and Moths of Europe Vol.4. as Ephestia woodiella. The moth was subsequently dissected and confirmed by Ken Bond as a male of the species and new to Ireland. The specimen will be lodged with the National Museum of Ireland, Natural History, Dublin.
In Britain it is reported to fly from May to September. Unlike other British members of the genus, it is not a pest of warehouses and is encountered outdoors, having been beaten from ivy, yew and alder and it also comes to light. The larva is suspected to feed on dried plant material, dried berries and the dead stems of ivy. Recorded from England, Wales and the Channel Islands, it is widely distributed across much of central Western Europe.
Tony Bryant and Ken Bond.
Bryant, T. & Bond K.G.M., 2017. Ephestia woodiella Richards & Thomson, 1932 (Lep.: Pyralidae) new to Ireland. The Entomologist’s Record and Journal of Variation 129: 230.