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Species
Tineidae
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Larval behavior:
While many tineid larvae build portable cases from which they feed in a manner analogous to that of Psychidae, case-building is by no means consistent within genera or even within species, and the definition of case is blurred by the range of practices observed among Tineidae. The simplest structure is no more than a tubular cocoon constructed at the beginning rather than at the end of larval life. The tube may be attached to the substrate or form a tunnel through it. *Trichophaga swinhoei* feeds on weathered carnivore feces in South Africa and builds a 4 cm vertical tube within which it lives; the tube may provide not only protection but a means of escaping extreme temperatures close to the soil surface. Long tubes that ramify through the lichen host are built by larvae of *Infurcitinea*. Short, fixed tubes are built as shelters for ecdysis by certain *Monopis* and *Tinea* species. Fully portable tubular cases of varying degrees of sophistication are built by many Tineinae and Meessiinae.
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Rights holder/Author | Leptree.net, Don Davis, LepTree |
Source | http://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=2804&scientificName=Tineidae |
Adult behavior:
diurnal, nocturnal, crepuscular
Adult behavior:
Some Tineidae have been recorded as forming mating swarms, notably Nemapogon and some Scardiinae; at least one Monopis needs several cubic metres of free space for successful courtship. Gyratory dance has been recorded in several Tineidae, but this may not have a courtship function. Female pheromones of Tineidae have been little studied but responses have been recorded to octadecenyl acetate derivatives, notably E3Z13-18Ac; two pheromones have been isolated from Tineola, E2-18A1 and E2E13-18A1.Oviposition may involve insertion of eggs into crevices (by species with soft ovipositors) or penetration of host tissue (by species with piercing ovipositors); eggs may be protected with fine hair or scales from the corethrogyne or abdominal apex glued to the pool of mucilage surround¬ing each egg. Larviparity is known in numerous Andean Tinea and Indo-Australian Monopis species; fecundity is traded off against egg mortality. Monopis with conventional reproductive systems carry 150-200 mature and immature ova whereas larviparous species produce 40-60 fully-developed first instar larvae which are matured in the greatly enlarged common oviduct.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Leptree.net, Don Davis, LepTree |
Source | http://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=2804&scientificName=Tineidae |
Pupa life history description:
Pre-pupation behaviour involves firstly movement to the pupation site. Portable cases are suspended well away from the food substrate prior to pupation. Case- or tube-dwellers pupate in the case or tube; free-living species spin a simple cocoon; case- or tube-dwelling species then clean out their refuge and seal it with a few strands of silk. Internal feeders partially cut out an operculum in the surface of the fungus or wood in which they have fed and then spin a cocoon close to this exit.
Larval food items include:
wool, fur or bird feathers. guano. stored food products. plant debris
Larval food habits description:
Tineid larvae have traditionally been categorized as detritophagous, lichenivorous or fungivorous. Most tineid larvae are fungivorous in the sense that their food comprises a substantial proportion of fungal tissue. Detritophagy involves tineids in a wide range of niches in a wide range of biological systems with habits ranging from the mundane to the bizarre, from feeding on fallen leaves to feeding on guano in bat-caves, on mammal corpses, on insect remains in or below spider webs, and on feathers in bird nests. Some detritophagous Tineidae are commensals, sharing food resources with social Hymenoptera, Isoptera, and with mammals including man. Synanthropic species include pests of stored food products and of furnishings and fabrics made from wool, fur or feathers. There is strong correlation between the higher taxonomic category to which a tineid belongs and its larval food.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Leptree.net, Don Davis, LepTree |
Source | http://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=2804&scientificName=Tineidae |
Adult food items include:
Animal fur, wool, feathers, skin.. stored food products. guano. dead plant and animal remains
Adult food habits description:
Tineid larvae have traditionally been categorized as detritophagous, lichenivorous or fungivorous. Practically all tineid larvae are fungivorous in the sense that their food comprises a substantial proportion of fungal tissue. Detritophagy involves tineids in a wide range of niches in a wide range of biological systems with habits ranging from the mundane to the bizarre, from feeding on fallen leaves to feeding on guano in bat-caves, on mammal corpses, on insect remains in or below spider webs, and on feathers in bird nests. Some detritophagous Tineidae are commensals, sharing food resources with social Hymenoptera, Isoptera, and with mammals including man. Synanthropic species include pests of stored food products and of furnishings and fabrics made from wool, fur or feathers. There is strong correlation between the higher taxonomic category to which a tineid belongs and its larval
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Leptree.net, Don Davis, LepTree |
Source | http://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=2804&scientificName=Tineidae |
Systematic and taxonomic history:
Relationships between subfamilies are still obscure. Some 150 genera have yet to be attributed to subfamilies, but many of these may prove to be synonyms of genera whose systematic position is already known. For a broad and detailed review of the classification and biology of Tineidae, see Robinson and Nielsen (1993).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Leptree.net, Don Davis, LepTree |
Source | http://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=2804&scientificName=Tineidae |
Fossil record:
The earliest fossil record for Tineidae has been assigned questionably to the Campanian Stage of the Cretaceous, ~ 83 mya (Labandeira 1994).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Leptree.net, Don Davis, LepTree |
Source | http://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=2804&scientificName=Tineidae |
Diversity description:
The family Tineidae encompasses some 3000 described species in 320 genera. Fifteen subfamilies are currently recognized. Of these, 13 are probably monophyletic.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Leptree.net, Don Davis, LepTree |
Source | http://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=2804&scientificName=Tineidae |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:8344
Specimens with Sequences:7697
Specimens with Barcodes:7263
Species:592
Species With Barcodes:550
Public Records:932
Public Species:259
Public BINs:297
Geographic Range:
Nearctic, Palearctic, Oriental, Ethiopian, Neotropical, Australian, Oceanic Island
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Leptree.net, Don Davis, LepTree |
Source | http://www.leptree.net/lep_taxon_page?id=2804&scientificName=Tineidae |