Monopis argillacea (Meyrick, 1893)
 (previously known as Blabophanes argillacea)
TINEINAE,   TINEIDAE,   TINEOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Monopis argillacea
(Photo: courtesy of Katarina Christenson, Melba, Australian Capital Territory)

The caterpillars of this species carry silk cases around with them. The caterpillars have been found feeding on :

  • feathers lining the nests of wild birds, and
  • hair of dead mammals, particularly on dead carcases.

    Monopis argillacea
    (Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    The adult moth has speckled fawn forewings which each have a variable dark central patch, often containing a white spot. The hindwings are a shiny off-white. The moth has a wingspan of about 1.5 cms.

    The species has been found in

  • New Zealand,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Victoria,
  • South Australia, and
  • Western Australia.

    Further reading :

    Edward Meyrick,
    Descriptions of Australian Micro-lepidoptera XVI: Tineidae,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Series 2, Volume 7, Part 4 (1891), p. 528, No. 69.

    Gaden S. Robinson & Ebbe S. Nielsen,
    Tineid Genera of Australia,
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 2,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1993, pp. 43, 163, 168, 169.

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    (updated 14 September 2012, 14 August 2019, 22 November 2020, 28 May 2021)