''Nemapogon granella'' (European grain worm or European grain moth) is a species of tineoid moth. It belongs to the fungus moth family (Tineidae), and therein to the subfamily Nemapogoninae. It is the type species of its genus '' Nemapogon'', and via that also of the subfamily Nemapogoninae. It is also the type species of the proposed genera ''Brosis'' (as established by J. Hübner, a junior homonym and thus invalid) and ''Diaphthirusa'', which are consequently junior objective synonyms of ''Nemapogon''.

Ecology and description

This moth ranges widely across the western

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

. However, even in its native range its distribution is somewhat patchy; in the UK for example, it is widespread, but may still be locally absent. It has not been recorded from France and Slovenia, but this may simply be due to its being overlooked or confused with similar species than being genuinely absent, as it is found in the neighboring countries. Its apparent absence from Iceland, on the other hand, is more likely genuine. But this synanthropic moth has been distributed essentially all over the globe, though many such introduced populations are not stable for long periods of time. Still, it is regularly found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for example, about as far away from its native range as is possible on Earth. The adults are most often seen throughout the summer months, e.g. from March to September in the UK. Naturally, populations associated with humans can be encountered at any time of the year. Nemapogon

This small moth has a wingspan of 10–18 mm. The forewings are irregularly mottled black, white and grey, resembling close relatives such as the cork moth (''N. cloacella''). They have a row of large black spots on the leading edge, which merge with spots within the wing to form a rough band zigzagging along the length of the forewings. The hindwings are uniformly greyish-brown and surrounded by a fringe of long hairs. On the head, the adults have a tuft of yellowish-white hairs.Kimber

010 010 may refer to: * 10 (number) * 8 (number) in octal numeral notation * Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982 * 010, the telephone area code of Beijing * 010, the Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the R ...

/ref> The

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

larvae eat rotting wood in the wild, though they prefer bracket fungi, usually

Polyporales The Polyporales are an order of about 1800 species of fungi in the division Basidiomycota. The order includes some (but not all) polypores as well as many corticioid fungi and a few agarics (mainly in the genus ''Lentinus''). Many species within ...

. Their mainstay food included

Polyporaceae The Polyporaceae are a family of poroid fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota. The flesh of their fruit bodies varies from soft (as in the case of the dryad's saddle illustrated) to very tough. Most members of this family have their hymeniu ...

such as

sulphur polypore ''Laetiporus sulphureus'' is a species of bracket fungus (fungi that grow on trees) found in Europe and North America. Its common names are crab-of-the-woods, sulphur polypore, sulphur shelf, and chicken-of-the-woods. Its fruit bodies grow as ...

(''Laetiporus sulphureus''),

dryad's saddle ''Cerioporus squamosus'' aka ''Polyporus squamosus'' is a basidiomycete bracket fungus, with common names including dryad's saddle and pheasant's back mushroom. It has a widespread distribution, being found in North America, Australia, Asia, and ...

(''Polyporus squamosus'') or

turkey tail ''Trametes versicolor''also known as ''Coriolus versicolor'' and ''Polyporus versicolor''is a common polypore mushroom found throughout the world. Meaning 'of several colors', ''versicolor'' reliably describes this fungus that displays a variet ...

(''Trametes versicolor''), as well as

Fomitopsidaceae The Fomitopsidaceae are a family of fungi in the order Polyporales. Most species are parasitic on woody plants, and tend to cause brown rots. The name comes from ''Fomitopsis'' (meaning "looking like Fomes") + ''-aceae'' (a suffix used to form t ...

, e.g.

birch polypore ''Fomitopsis betulina'' (previously ''Piptoporus betulinus''), commonly known as the birch polypore, birch bracket, or razor strop, is a common bracket fungus and, as the name suggests, grows almost exclusively on birch trees. The brackets burs ...

(''Piptoporus betulinus''). But they have also been found on '' Serpula lacrymans'' of the quite unrelated Boletales.Grabe (1942), Kimber

and see references in Savela (2009) Larvae in association with humans will feed on a variety of dry organic material, such as dried fruit (e.g. bilberries, ''Vaccinium'') and mushrooms,

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

and

legume A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock f ...

seeds,

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

, Topinambur (''Helianthus tuberosus'') stalks, and even

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

(e.g.

s of wine and champagne bottles) and the

ergot Ergot ( ) or ergot fungi refers to a group of fungi of the genus ''Claviceps''. The most prominent member of this group is ''Claviceps purpurea'' ("rye ergot fungus"). This fungus grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that ca ...

fungus '' Claviceps purpurea''. Further records have been claimed from '' Capsicum annuum'' fruit, poppyseed (''Papaver somniferum''), bitter almonds (''Prunus amygdalus amara'') and beeswax, but it is not clear if they refer to this species or the cork moth.

Synonyms

This widespread, often common and partially synanthropic species has been described times and again under a variety of

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

s, all now obsolete. In addition, it has been affected by the common problem of '' Nemapogon'', namely uncertainty whether their

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

s were of male and female gender, ending in ''-us'' or ''-a''.

Junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

s and other obsolete scientific names of the European grain moth are:ABRS (2008b), Robinson

/ref>

* ''Nemapogon costotristrigella'' (Chambers, 1873) * ''Nemapogon costistrigella'' (lapsus) * ''Nemapogon domesticella'' (Scopoli, 1763) * ''Nemapogon fascomaculella'' (lapsus) * ''Nemapogon fenestrella'' (Scopoli, 1763b) (non Scopoli, 1763a:

preoccupied The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linn ...

) * ''Nemapogon fuscicomella'' (Wörz, 1958) * ''Nemapogon fuscomaculella'' (Chambers, 1873) * ''Nemapogon granellus'' (lapsus) * ''Nemapogon mancuniella'' (Hodgkinson, 1880) * ''Nemapogon marmorella'' (Chambers, 1875) * ''Nemapogon nebulosella'' (Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785) * ''Nemapogon granella nigra'' (Dufrane, 1955) * ''Nemapogon nigroatomella'' (Dietz, 1905) * ''Nemapogon tesserella'' (Fabricius, 1794) * ''Phalaena domesticella'' Scopoli, 1763 * '' Phalaena fenestrella'' Scopoli, 1763b (non Scopoli, 1763a: preoccupied) * ''Phalaena (Tinea) granella'' Linnaeus, 1758 * ''Tinea costotristrigella'' Chambers, 1873 * ''Tinea fuscicomella'' Wörz, 1958 * ''Tinea fuscomaculella'' Chambers, 1873 * ''Tinea granella'' Linnaeus, 1758 * ''Tinea granella nigra'' Dufrane, 1955 * ''Tinea mancuniella'' Hodgkinson, 1880 * ''Tinea marmorella'' Chambers, 1875 * ''Tinea nebulosella'' Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785 * ''Tinea nigroatomella'' Dietz, 1905 * ''Tinea tesserella'' Fabricius, 1794 The supposed subspecies ''nigra'' form Belgium has turned out to be a chance

form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form also refers to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter data ...

, rather than a distinct population.

Footnotes

References

* Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) (2008a): Australian Faunal Directory &ndash
''Nemapogon''
Version of 2008-OCT-09. Retrieved 2010-MAY-06. * Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) (2008b): Australian Faunal Directory &ndash
''Nemapogon granella''
Version of 2008-OCT-09. Retrieved 2010-MAY-06. * Fauna Europaea (FE) (2009)
''Nemapogon granella''
Version 2.1, 2009-DEC-22. Retrieved 2010-MAY-06. * Grabe, Albert (1942): Eigenartige Geschmacksrichtungen bei Kleinschmetterlingsraupen Strange tastes among micromoth caterpillars" ''Zeitschrift des Wiener Entomologen-Vereins'' 27: 105-109

n German N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

br>PDF fulltext
* Kimber, Ian

UKmoths &ndash
''Nemapogon granella''
Retrieved 2010-MAY-06. * Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (2004a)
Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species
&ndash
''Brosis'' Hübner, 1822
Version of 2004-NOV-05. Retrieved 2010-MAY-06. * Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (2004b)
Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species
&ndash
''Diaphthirusa''
Version of 2004-NOV-05. Retrieved 2010-MAY-06. * Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (2004c)
Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species
&ndash
''Nemapogon''
Version of 2004-NOV-05. Retrieved 2010-MAY-06. * Robinson, Gaden S.

br>Global Taxonomic Database of Tineidae (Lepidoptera)
&ndash
''Nemapogon granella''
Retrieved 2010-MAY-06. * Savela, Markku (2003): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms &ndash

'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic'' Version of 2003-DEC-27. Retrieved 2010-MAY-06.

External links

Lepidoptera of Belgium

Lepiforum de

{{Taxonbar, from=Q391611 Nemapogoninae Moths described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Moths of Asia Moths of Africa Moths of Europe Moths of Oceania