Bird Nest Moth
Ventral
Tineid Case Moth
Larva, Front
| Bird Nest Moth Ventral | | Tineid Case Moth Larva, Front | | ||
 | Class: | Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta) | |||
| Order: | Butterflies & Moths (Lepidoptera) | ||||
| Family: | Tineid Moth (:Tineoidea Tineidae) | ||||
| Species: | Tineid Case Moth (Tineidae sp) | ||||
| This Photo: | Larva, On the Move | ||||
Thank you Ethan Beaver for helping with the id of this species for us General Species Information: Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere This is a most unusual Case moth as it's case is made of sand. We thought it was a caddisfly, but they are aquatic and the head of this is not that of a caddisfly but of some type of caterpillar. We then thought it was a Case moth (Psychidae), but they don't make their cases out of sand. Finally we found this family makes cases out of all sorts of things, including sand. The most well known is the introduced clothes moth (Tinea pellionella) but would be surprised those could survive the semi-arid conditions. Many species in this family make cases. Ethan said "Sand and small pebble designs are not uncommon but are rarely recorded because they are so cryptic." | |||||
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