The Erechthias Clothes Moth (Erechthias minuscula) is a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Tineidae

Tineidae

Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in over 300 genera. Most of the tineid moths are small or medium-sized, with wings held roofwise over the body at rest...

 family. It is widespread and has been recorded from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the Caroline Islands

Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...

, Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

, Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

, the Marquesas, the West Indies, Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 and Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.

The ground color of the adults is mostly cream or pale straw-colored. The forewings, which are strongly upturned at the tips, are variably and extensively marked with pale to dark brown scales.

The larvae are scavengers in dead plant materials and may be found in dead tree trunks, stems, leaves, fruits, and seed pods. Recorded plant material used as food includes Acacia koa, Acacia koaia

Acacia koaia

Acacia koaia, known as koaia or koaie in Hawaiian, is a tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is closely related to koa , and is sometimes considered to be the same species...

, banana, Calotropis

Calotropis

Calotropis is a genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. They are commonly known as milkweeds because of the sap they produce. Calotropis species are considered common weeds in some parts of the world. The flowers are fragrant and are often used in making floral tassels in...

, Cassia

Cassia

Cinnamomum aromaticum, called cassia or Chinese cinnamon, is an evergreen tree native to southern China, Bangladesh, Uganda, India, and Vietnam. Like its close relative Cinnamomum verum, also known as "Ceylon cinnamon", it is used primarily for its aromatic bark, which is used as a spice...

, eggplant, fig,
Lantana

Lantana

Lantana is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in the Australian-Pacific region. The genus includes both...

, palms, Pandanus

Pandanus

Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...

, papaya, pineapple, Pipturus

Pipturus

Pipturus is a flowering plant genus in the nettle family, Urticaceae.-Selected species:* Pipturus albidus A.Gray ex H.Mann – Māmaki * Pipturus arborescens C.B.Rob., 1911...

, Sapindus oahuensis

Sapindus oahuensis

Sapindus oahuensis, commonly known as Āulu or Lonomea, is a species of soapberry that is endemic to Hawaii. It can be found in dry, coastal mesic, and mixed mesic forests at elevations of on the islands of Kauai and Oahu . Āulu reaches a height of and a trunk diameter of...

, Sicana odorifera

Sicana odorifera

Sicana odorifera, the only species of the genus Sicana, is a large, herbaceous perennial vine native to tropical South America, grown as an ornamental plant and for its sweet edible fruit...

as well as old tamarind pods.

External links

• Insects of Hawaii. Volume 9, Microlepidoptera
• Images
• Bug Guide