An attempt to reconstruct the natural and cultural history of the webbing clothes moth Tineola bisselliella Hummel (Lepidoptera: Tineidae)

Abstract

-It is generally accepted that the natural habitats of most pest insects can be found outside the synanthropic environment in layers of leaf litter, under bark, as well as in rodent or bird nests. Indeed, most of the common pests have been reported as being facultative nidicolous. Therefore infestation of commodities by pest insects out of these reservoirs is one considerable possibility. However, the likelihood of a pest´s occurrence and survival out-doors largely depends on its ecological potential and competitiveness against other species of the same ecological guild. Some pest species are rarely found in wild habitats, especially in those regions where they are not native and where they have been introduced by man. The fabric pest Tineola bisselliella serves as a good example. Most likely originating in Central or Southern Africa this insect was introduced into Europe probably not earlier than the late 18 th century. Being more tolerant to dry environments than other fabric pests its economical importance increased during the 20 th century when in-door climates changed because of central heating systems. Its occurrence in out-door natural habitats must be regarded as accidental. Reported founds of webbing clothes moth larvae in bird nests e.g. have been largely overstated in the literature. T. bisselliella should be regarded as an eusynanthropic species.Key words: evolution, pest insect, phylogeny, synanthropy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MORPHOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGYThe adult webbing clothes moth is a small moth that ranges in size from 4 to 9 mm and weighs up to 16 mg (Kemper, 1935;Hannemann, 1977;Becker, 1983). The head and the rest of the body are covered with long hair. The rusty yellow head hairs point towards the front. The eyes are black. The mouth parts are reduced, the mandibles are rudimentary, the maxillary palps are very short or missing, and only the labial palps are apparent and well developed (Fig. 1). The wings are lanceolate and are fringed at their ends and rear edges. The forewings are yellowish, and the hind wings are grayishyellow. There are no striking markings on the wings. The wingspan ranges between 12 to 16 mm. In flight, the hind wings are interlinked through a setaceous frenulum to the retinaculum of the forewings. The male moths are generally smaller than the female moths and have a few small tufts of hair on the last three abdominal segments.

Insect Pests and Integrated Pest Management in Museums, Libraries and Historic Buildings

“…A few species of moths are found inside buildings and are important pests, predominantly the webbing clothes moth ( Tineola bisselliella ), which is probably the most important pest on textiles, fur and feathers [ 25 , 26 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 ]. The webbing clothes moth is a pest on the textiles of animal wool (sheep or goat for example), fur, feathers, hair, felt, silk, carpets, rugs, blankets, upholstery, piano felts, fishmeal, milk powder, brush bristles, but often also come from dust [ 25 ].…”

Larvae of the Clothing Moth Tineola bisselliella Maintain Gut Bacteria that Secrete Enzyme Cocktails to Facilitate the Digestion of Keratin

“…Insect-derived microbes are therefore recognized as a bioresource to be explored for human welfare, e.g., for the bioconversion of organic waste [2]. The clothing moth Tineola bisselliella is a global synanthropic pest because the caterpillars can feed on clothes and carpets made of wool [3]. Autecological, behavioral, and historical data combined with published faunistic records suggest that this species probably originated from Central or Southern Africa and was introduced into Europe in the late 18th century.…”

“…Autecological, behavioral, and historical data combined with published faunistic records suggest that this species probably originated from Central or Southern Africa and was introduced into Europe in the late 18th century. Its preference for dry environments promoted its worldwide spread during the 20th century when indoor climates changed because of the introduction of domestic central heating systems [3]. T. bisselliella has adapted to feed predominantly on materials rich in keratin, such as feathers, woolen clothes, and carpets.…”

Linking webbing clothes moths to infested objects or other food sources in museums

“…Over the last few decades, the moth has caused severe damage to many museum objects and along with Dermestid and Anobiid beetles is a key pest (Querner, 2009(Querner, , 2012Blyth & Smith, 2011;Querner & Simon, 2011;Thomson, 2011;. According to Plarre and Krüger-Carstensen (2011), this clothes moth probably originated in central and southern Africa, but today has a world-wide distribution and can be found wherever humans live. Infestations seem to be concentrated in cities where webbing clothes moths are primarily found in occupied buildings and not associated with natural structures such as bird nests .…”

“…The larvae are responsible for damage to a wide range of materials, such as stored products, domestic items, and museum artifacts. The ecology, biology, development time, and their occurrence in cities are described in Cox and Pinniger (2007), Plarre (2009), Krüger-Carstensen and Plarre (2011), and Plarre and Krüger-Carstensen (2011).…”