Monopis monacha Zagalujev, 1972
(also known as Monopis monachella)
 TINEINAE,   TINEIDAE,   TINEOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Monopis monacha
(Photo: courtesy of Graeme Cocks, Townsville, Queensland)

The Caterpillars of this species are thought to live in a silk case, and to feed on animal products like hair, feathers, and droppings.

Monopis monacha
(Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

The adult moth has black forewings, each with a big white patch on the costa. The hindwings, head, and thorax are off-white. The wingspan is about 1.5 cms.

The species has been found all over the world, including

  • Canada
  • Pakistan,
  • Poland,

    as well as in Australia in

  • Northern Territory, and
  • Queensland.

    Further reading :

    Gaden S. Robinson & Ebbe S. Nielsen,
    Tineid Genera of Australia,
    Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera Volume 2,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 1993.

    Aleksei Konstantinovich Zagulyaev,
    New and little known species of Tineidae, Deuterotineidae, Ochsenheimeriidae (Lepidoptera),
    Trudy Zoologicheskogo Instituta, Akademiya Nauk SSSR,
    Volume 52 (1972), p. 352.

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    (written 15 September 2012, updated 18 January 2025)