Clothes-moths of the Tinea pellionella complex : a revision of the world's species (Lepidoptera : Tineidae) Gaden S. Robinson__^ Department of Entomology, British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD Contents Synopsis 57 Introduction 57 Preparatory techniques ........... 59 Abbreviations 60 Acknowledgements 60 Check-list of the species of the Tinea pellionella group 60 Geographical distribution 61 Morphology 61 Tinea Linnaeus ............ 62 The pellionella-group ........... 62 Key to males 67 Key to females 67 Descriptions of species 68 References 95 Index 128 Synopsis This paper gives an account of the eleven species of the Tinea pellionella complex, the case-making clothes-moths. One species is described as new. Nine new specific synonyms are established. Keys and figures for the identification of male and female specimens are given and special reference is made to intraspecific variation. The biology and distribution of each species is discussed in detail with special reference to damage, pest status and the factors limiting distribution. An extensive review of all literature including literature on control is provided : the bibliography contains 360 references. Records of out-breaks of introduced species and records of quarantine interceptions are given : distribution maps are provided. Introduction "The Motte bredethe amonge clothes till that they have byten it asonder; it is a maniable worm yet it hydeth him in y clothe that it can scantly be sene; it bredeth gladly in clothes that have ben i[n] an evyll ayre or in a rayn or myst & so layde up without hanging in the sonne or other swete ayre after. The [h]erbes that be bitter and well smelli[n]ge is good to be layde amo[n]ge suche clothes, [such] as the baielevis [or] cipreswode.' (Anonymous, 1521) Five Biblical references in which the clothes-moth appears in the context of simile or metaphor attest to the antiquity of man's awareness of -and opposition to -a ubiquitous group of pest species. Apart from appearances as a literary device (Job 14 : 2, Isaiah 50 : 9, 51 : 8, Matthew 6: 19, James 5: 2) the clothes-moth was described in some detail by Plinius Secundus (Historia Naturalis 11: 41) in about A.D. 77 and, in one of the first printed books, Joannes de Cuba (1491) describes Tynea' and provides a woodcut (republished by Hartnack, 1939) of a woman brushing Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Ent.) 38 (3): 57-128 Issued 29 March, 1979 57
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