Monopis crocicapitella

Monopis crocicapitella, the pale-backed clothes moth, is a moth of the family Tineidae described by James Brackenridge Clemens in 1859.[1] It has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution. It was first described from the eastern United States. It is particularly destructive of fabric and clothes.

Monopis crocicapitella
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Tineidae
Genus:	Monopis
Species:	M. crocicapitella
Binomial name
Monopis crocicapitella (Clemens, 1859)
Synonyms
Tinea crocicapitella Clemens, 1859 Tinea amandatella Walker, 1863 Monopis cecconii Turati, 1919 Monopis dobrogica Georgesco, 1964 Blabophanes heringi Richardson, 1893 Tinea hyalinella Staudinger, 1870 Blabophanes lombardica Hering, 1889 Amydria prometopias Gyen, 1913 Blabophanes ptilophaga Enderlein, 1909

The wingspan is 10–16 mm. It is similar to Monopis obviella, but less distinctly-marked, with a darker dorsal streak and more speckled forewing. The ground colour of the hindwing is whitish grey or pale grey not dark with a slight purple tinge as in M. obviella. [2]

In western Europe, adults are on wing from June to October.The larvae feed on dried animal and vegetable refuse. They have been found in debris, in a dead rat, pigeon guano, bird's nests, and stored products of vegetable origin such as flour, corn and felt. They also feed on textiles, as the species' common name implies, and are particularly destructive.[3]A study undertaken on eleven English Heritage properties over several years before the winter of 2017-2018, showed that the number of moths captured in traps increased significantly during the study period.[3]

Monopis crocicapitella on clothing

Male genitalia of Monopis crocicapitella. See the image description for characters separating M. crocicapitella from Monopis obviella.