Monopis icterogastra (Zeller, 1852)
Wool Moth
 (one synonym : Tinea vivipara Scott, 1863)
TINEINAE,   TINEIDAE,   TINEOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of Brian Cartwright, Adelaide Hills, South Australia)

The Caterpillars of this species live in a silk case, and feed on animal products like hair, feathers, and droppings.

It is thought that the moths of this species lay live young caterpillars rather than eggs.


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

The adult moth has a striking black and white pattern on the forewings. The hindwings are a plain golden colour.


underside
(Photo: courtesy of Laura Levens, Upper Beaconsfield, Victoria)

The species is found over most of Australia, including:

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


    head closeup
    (Photo: courtesy of Laura Levens, Upper Beaconsfield, Victoria)

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 3.10, p. 184.

    Peter B. McQuillan, Jan A. Forrest, David Keane, & Roger Grund,
    Caterpillars, moths, and their plants of Southern Australia,
    Butterfly Conservation South Australia Inc., Adelaide (2019), p. 43.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 211.

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

    Philipp Christoph Zeller,
    Die Schaben mit langen Kiefertastern,
    Linnaea Entomologica,
    Band 6 (1852), pp. 112-114, No. 5.

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    (updated 14 September 2012, 19 February 2018, 6 April 2019)