Tineidae facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tineidae |
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| Adult European Grain Moth (Nemapogon granella: Nemapogoninae) from Graz (Austria) | |
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Glossata
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Heteroneura
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Tineoidea
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Tineidae
Latreille, 1810
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| Tinea Linnaeus, 1758
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Dryadaulinae |
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Tineidae is a group of moths also known as clothes moths. People also call them fungus moths or tineid moths.
There are over 3,000 different kinds of these moths. They belong to more than 300 main groups, called genera. Most tineid moths are small or medium-sized. They usually hold their wings flat over their bodies when resting.
What Are Tineid Moths Like?
These moths are very common in a large area called the Palaearctic. This area includes Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Some types of tineid moths found in other parts of the world were brought there by people. This means they are introduced species.
What Do Tineid Moths Eat?
Tineid moths eat many different things. They can eat living plants, fungi (like mushrooms), and lichens. Lichens are small plant-like growths often found on rocks or trees. They also eat detritus, which is decaying plant and animal matter.
The most famous members of this moth family are the clothes moths. They are known for eating stored fabrics. This includes clothes, carpets, and other materials made from natural fibers.
Famous Clothes Moths
The most common clothes moths are the Common Clothes Moth (Tineola bisselliella). There is also the Case-bearing Clothes Moth (Tinea pellionella). Another well-known one is the Carpet Moth (Trichophaga tapetzella).
The Brown-dotted Clothes Moth (Niditinea fuscella) has a special diet. It likes to eat feathers found in a bird's nest.
Some moths in the group called Ceratophaga eat very unusual things. They can eat parts of dead animals, like mammals. They even eat the shells of dead tortoises.
See also
In Spanish: Tineidos para niños
