Niditinea fuscella

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

Information

The Niditinea fuscella also called Brown-dotted Clothes Moth is a moth of the Tineidae family with a wingspan of 10-16 mm.
In Europe we find it everywhere with the exception of Iceland
Its range includes temperate Asia, it has also been accidentally introduced in other states such as Australia.
In Italy it is also present in the islands. *

The front wings of Niditinea fuscella are greyish / brown in color with three degrees of dark almost black spots on each front wing. The hind wings have a pearly gray color, and are strongly fringed.
Abdomen and thorax are pale brown, the head has the characteristic tuft, typical of the family, of a rusty or pale brown color. **, ***

The adults are visible in flight in the period between May and October depending on the latitude. They are visible in flight in the late afternoon or at dusk.

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 larvae feed on dry animal and plant waste.
The larva lives in the nests of birds, (in particular chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica), swallows (Hirundinidae) and woodpeckers (Picidae)), where they feed on scattered feathers and feces, animal fibers and stored plant materials. ****, *****


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/
*** Kimber [2010]
**** Grabe (1942), Kimber [2010]
***** Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Belgium - https://projects.biodiversity.be/lepidoptera/species/4233/