It is the type species of the genus Pyralis, and by extension of its entire tribe (Pyralini), subfamily (Pyralinae) and family.

Its synanthropic habits were noted even by 18th- and 19th-century naturalists, who described it using terms like domesticalis ("of home and hearth"), fraterna ("as close as a brother"), or the currently-valid farinalis ("of the flour").

In Great Britain and some other locations – particularly outside its natural range – it is mostly restricted to anthropogenic habitats of stored grain, e.g. barns and warehouses.

This drink is popular enough that scientists have been studying the moth's optimum growth conditions so they can possibly cultivate it for commercial use.

Places where refuse vegetable matter is able to accumulate are more likely to house P. farinalis than grain storage buildings where the environment is clean and dry.

[8] Meal moths can live in various habitats of damp, moist plant debris, but also even in poultry manure.

[7] Originally thought to be biennial species, it has been found that P. farinalis typically completes its entire life cycle in the course of eight weeks, and is capable of producing four generations within a year.

These include:[11] An odd behavior that male meal moths exhibit is the attempt to mate with other species, such as Amyelois transitella.

[8] Because of the meal moth's extensive appetite for cereals and grains, it is considered a pest by agriculturists.