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12.018 BF216a
Pale Devon Clothes Moth Nemapogon inconditella
(Lucas, 1956)
Wingspan 12-16 mm.
An endangered species with mysterious origins in Britain. It belongs to the Tineidae family of fungus-eating moths and occurs widely, though uncommonly, across the Palaearctic, from Spain and Morocco to central Asia.
On 7 July 1979, in Chudleigh Knighton Heath, south Devon, a single female specimen was collected and documented. No records of this moth have been made on the British Isles since. Although chances are, according to Heath and Emmet (1985), this could be an overlooked species, which may turn up under another name in specimen collections.
The Pale Devon Clothes Moth has a rather unassuming appearance. Its pallid forewings are irregularly flecked with dark brown markings. The most distinctive of these markings is a near-rectangular patch extending from the leading edge of the forewing to the centre. Its hindwings are drab grey.
Not much is known about the larvae of this species, except that they are thought to live off the bracket fungus, Turkey Tail Mushroom (Trametes versicolor).
Description: Michela Sisti
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