Phereoeca allutella
Encyclopedia
The Household Case-bearing Moth (Phereoeca allutella) is a moth
of the Tineidae
family. It has been recorded from Hawaii
, Panama
, the Canary Islands
, Madeira
, Sierra Leone
, the Seychelles
, Sri Lanka
, India
, Java
and Samoa
.
The wingspan
is 10–13 mm for females and 7–9 mm for males. Adults are grey with
one to four black spots on the forewings, and a fringe of scales along the posterior margin of the hind wings. When at rest, the wings are held tented over the body.
The larvae feed on a variety of dead materials, including dead insects and animal hair. Feeding takes place from within a case. These larval and pupal cases have been found on the outside walls and inside of non-air-conditioned buildings and are most abundant under spiderwebs, in bathrooms and bedrooms. Possibly, the species may be associated with mammals other than man. The larval case of is flat, spindle-shaped in outline, open at both ends, silk-lined inside, and covered with sand and other small particles outside. It is constructed by the first instar larva soon after hatching and is enlarged by each successive instar, and after special modification, is used for pupation. Fully formed cases are 8–13 mm long and 3–5 mm wide.
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 has been recorded from 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...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, 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...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 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...
and 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 wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 10–13 mm for females and 7–9 mm for males. Adults are grey with
one to four black spots on the forewings, and a fringe of scales along the posterior margin of the hind wings. When at rest, the wings are held tented over the body.
The larvae feed on a variety of dead materials, including dead insects and animal hair. Feeding takes place from within a case. These larval and pupal cases have been found on the outside walls and inside of non-air-conditioned buildings and are most abundant under spiderwebs, in bathrooms and bedrooms. Possibly, the species may be associated with mammals other than man. The larval case of is flat, spindle-shaped in outline, open at both ends, silk-lined inside, and covered with sand and other small particles outside. It is constructed by the first instar larva soon after hatching and is enlarged by each successive instar, and after special modification, is used for pupation. Fully formed cases are 8–13 mm long and 3–5 mm wide.