Niditinea fuscella (Linnaeus, 1758)
Brown-dotted Clothes Moth
(one synonym : Tinea abligatella Walker, 1863)
TINEINAE,   TINEIDAE,   TINEOIDEA
  
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Niditinea fuscella
(Photo: courtesy of Mark J. Dreiling)

The Caterpillars of this species feed on dry animal and plant remains, and have been found feeding on:

  • wool,
  • feathers,
  • bird feces in birds' nests,
  • dry peas,
  • dried fruit,
  • bran,
  • dry rose flowers,
  • dead beetles, and
  • pigskin bookbindings.

    The female moths only appear to lay eggs on these materials after the materials have previously been infested by other insects.

    Niditinea fuscella
    (Photo: courtesy of the Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    The adult moth has pale brown forewings, each with dark markings including extensive speckles, several brown spots, and a vague dark central streak. The hindwings are silvery grey with brown wingtips. The moths have a wingspan of about 1.5 cms.

    It has been reported in :

  • Greenland,
  • Nederland,
  • New Zealand,
  • South Africa,
  • U.K., and
  • U.S.A.,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Australian Capital Territory,
  • Victoria, and
  • Tasmania.


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 184.

    Carl Linnaeus,
    Insecta Lepidoptera,
    Systema Naturae,
    Edition 10, Volume 1 (1760), Class 5, Part 3, p. 539, No. 276.

    Gaden S. Robinson & Ebbe S. Nielsen,
    Tineid Genera of Australia,
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 2,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1993, pp. 145, 147-148.

    Francis Walker,
    Tortricites & Tineites,
    List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum,
    Part 28 (1863), p. 476, No. 74.


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    (written 23 May 2019, updated 26 October 2020)