Monopis crocicapitella

• Subfamily: Tineinae
• Wingspan: 10-16 mm
• Flight period: Jun - Oct
• Spread: Uncommon
• Host plants: Dry animal and plant remains

Information

The Monopis crocicapitella also known as Brown-dotted Clothes Moth is a moth of the Tineidae family with a wingspan of 10-16 mm.
In Europe we find it on the Iberian Peninsula in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, the Balkan Peninsula, Ukraine and southern European Russia.
Its distribution is almost cosmopolitan.
In Italy it is also present in Sicily but not in Sardinia. *

The front wings of the Monopis crocicapitella are blackish with the edge near the anal vein of a washed-out orange color, some splashes of the same color are present along the leading edge and a central spot on the costal area.
The rear wings are fringed, gray / brown in color. The head is blackish in color, with a faded orange tuft of hair. The thorax is blackish with a faded orange central band, the abdomen is brown.

Easily confused with its congener Monopis obviella , it is distinguished from it by a greater diffusion of orange spots, especially on the fringes of the margin which in Monopis obviella are sparse or absent.

They are visible from June to October (depending on the position), it is thought in two generations, they are mainly nocturnal moths, but not infrequently they can also be encountered during the day or be, from time to time, attracted to artificial light.

The larva is white / yellowish in color with an amber head and a light ocher prothoracic shield, it lives inside a silky case (with which it moves) covered with earth residues. **
The shiny yellowish pupa forms inside the case. **

The larvae feed on dry animal and plant waste.
The larva lives in bird nests, on stored products of plant origin such as: flour, corn, felt and textiles, or on a variety of plant or animal waste. ***


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/
*** Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Belgium - https://projects.biodiversity.be/lepidoptera/species/4166/