''Tinea pellionella'', the case-bearing clothes moth, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of tineoid moth in the family

Tineidae Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera described by Pierre André Latreille in 1810. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in more than 300 genera. ...

, the fungus moths. This species has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

, occurring nearly worldwide.

Taxonomy

Being a widespread species and often affiliated with humans, ''T. pellionella'' was among the first moths to be scientifically described in the modern sense. At that time most moths were included in a single genus ''"

Phalaena ''Phalaena'' is an obsolete genus of Lepidoptera used by Carl Linnaeus to house most moths. ''Phalaena'' was one of three genera used by Linnaeus to cover all Lepidoptera. ''Papilio'' included all butterflies at that time, ''Sphinx'' included al ...

"'', but ''Tinea'' was already recognized as a distinct

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

. Some later researchers who studied this moth erroneously believed they had discovered populations formerly unknown to science and described them as new species, but today these are all included within ''T. pellionella''. Obsolete scientific names for this moth thus may be encountered in the literature, and include: * ''Phalaena'' (''Tinea'') ''pellionella'' Linnaeus, 1758 * ''Phalaena zoolegella'' Scopoli, 1763 * ''Tinea demiurga'' Meyrick, 1920 * ''Tinea gerasimovi'' Zagulajev, 1978 * ''Tinea pelliomella'' (''

lapsus In philology, a lapsus (Latin for "lapse, slip, error") is an involuntary mistake made while writing or speaking. Investigations In 1895 an investigation into verbal slips was undertaken by a philologist and a psychologist, Rudolf Meringer and ...

'') It is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Tinea Dermatophytosis, also known as tinea and ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin (a dermatomycosis), that may affect skin, hair, and nails. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affe ...

'', which in turn is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the subfamily, family, as well as the superfamily Tineoidea. Its

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

is derived from "tinea", a generic term for

micromoth Microlepidoptera (micromoths) is an artificial (i.e., unranked and not monophyletic) grouping of moth families, commonly known as the "smaller moths" ( micro, Lepidoptera). These generally have wingspans of under 20 mm, so are harder to iden ...

s, and the Latin term for a

furrier Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item ...

, ''pellionellus''. Another common name is "bagworm" due to the case that their larvae carry around, but not to be confused with the

Psychidae The Psychidae (bagworm moths, also simply bagworms or bagmoths) are a family of the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). The bagworm family is fairly small, with about 1,350 species described. Bagworm species are found globally, with some, su ...

that are also called "bagworms" in English.

Description

It is silvery grey to shiny light brown in color, with dark grayish hairs on the top of its head. The adult of this species has a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

of 9 to 16 millimeters. Its forewings are grizzled brown with one large spot and a few smaller, indistinct black spots. The hindwings are plain pale brown-grey. The forewings, but especially the hindwings are surrounded by a hairy fringe. Difficult to distinguish from ''

Tinea columbariella ''Tinea columbariella'' is a moth belonging to the family Tineidae. The species was first described by Wocke in 1877. It has a cosmopolitan distribution. Description Wingspan 9–15 mm. Head with rust brown hair. Antennae just over half t ...

'', ''

Tinea dubiella Dermatophytosis, also known as tinea and ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin (a dermatomycosis), that may affect skin, hair, and nails. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affec ...

'' and ''

Tinea svenssoni ''Tinea svenssoni'' is a moth of the family Tineidae. It is found in northern Europe (Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic region), Russia, as well as North America where has been recorded from Québec. The wingspan The wingspan (or just spa ...

'' but the genitalia are diagnostic. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

eats mainly

fibrous Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...

keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. It is the key structural material making up Scale (anatomy), scales, hair, Nail (anatomy), nails, feathers, horn (anatomy), horns, claws, Hoof, hoove ...

, such as

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

s and

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...

s. It can become a pest when it feeds on

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...

furs A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

upholstery Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something. ''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English wor ...

, and

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

s. It also consumes

detritus In biology, detritus ( or ) is organic matter made up of the decomposition, decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decomposition, decompose (Reminera ...

, cobwebs,

bird nest A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and Avian incubation, incubates its Bird egg, eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structures built by animals, structure made by the bird itself—such as th ...

s (particularly of the

domestic pigeon The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domestica'' or ''Columba livia'' Form (zoology), forma ''domestica'') is a pigeon subspecies that was derived from the rock dove, rock dove or rock pigeon. The rock pigeon is the world's oldest domesticated ...

), stored

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

produce and

wallpaper Wallpaper is used in interior decoration to cover the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" to help cover uneve ...

. It stays inside a snug case it constructs from debris such as fibers and hairs.

Biology

It is

synanthropic A synanthrope (from ancient Greek σύν ''sýn'' "together, with" and ἄνθρωπος ''ánthrōpos'' "man") is an organism that evolved to live near humans and benefit from human settlements and their environmental modifications (see also ...

; the adult is typically encountered during summer and early autumn, but populations that live in human dwellings may be seen at other times of the year. Control measures for the case-bearing clothes moth are similar to those for the common clothes moth (''Tineola bisselliella''), and include physical, chemical, and biological measures.

References

* *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinea Pellionella Tineinae Moths described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Cosmopolitan moths