The white-shouldered house moth (''Endrosis sarcitrella'') is a species of

gelechioid moth __NOTOC__ Gelechioidea (from the type genus ''Gelechia'', "keeping to the ground") is the Taxonomic rank, superfamily of moths that contains the case-bearers, twirler moths, and relatives, also simply called curved-horn moths or gelechioid moths. ...

. It belongs to the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Oecophorinae __NOTOC__ The Oecophorinae are the nominate subfamily of moths in the concealer moth family (Oecophoridae). They are part of the insufficiently studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and like their relatives, the circumscription of this taxon is dis ...

of the

concealer moth Oecophoridae (concealer moths) is a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. The phylogeny and systematics of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the circumscription of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this. ...

family (Oecophoridae), just like the brown house moth (''Hofmannophila pseudospretella''). Though several presumed congeners of ''E. sarcitrella'' were described, its genus ''Endrosis'' is currently understood to be monotypic. Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) (2008): Australian Faunal Directory &ndash
''Endrosis sarcitrella''
Version of 2008-OCT-09. Retrieved 2010-APR-28 Fauna Europaea
''Endrosis sarcitrella''
This moth is a common species, found by now almost worldwide due to its synanthropic habits. It occurs regularly inside buildings, and being continuously-brooded, can be found at any time of year. It frequents light sources, and can be found in outbuildings where dried food such as grain is kept. It also inhabits birds nests. The larva is a little

grub Grub can refer to Grub (larva), of the beetle superfamily Scarabaeoidea, or as a slang term for food. It can also refer to: Places * Grub, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Switzerland * Grub, St. Gallen, Switzerland * Grub (Amerang), a hamlet in Bavaria, ...

-like

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 ...

and lives on dry plant and animal debris, where it spins itself a small silken hideout. Recorded foodstuffs include dried fruits,

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 ...

s (including bran and

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 ...

) and other seeds, potatoes, rotting wood, and even insect

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

s, wool and old textiles, and

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...

.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 ...

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Taxonomy

As type species of ''Endrosis'', the white-shouldered house moth was originally included in the genus when it was established (by

Jacob Hübner Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology. Scientific career Hübner was the author of '' ...

in 1825) as ''Alucita betulinella'', a

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 ...

established by Johan Christian Fabricius under this name in 1787. But Hübner had misidentified Fabricius' species, which was in reality a

tineid moth Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera described by Pierre André Latreille in 1810. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in more than 300 genera. ...

known today as ''

Nemaxera betulinella __NOTOC__ ''Nemaxera'' is a genus of the fungus moth family, Tineidae. Therein, it belongs to the subfamily Nemapogoninae. The genus is considered monotypic, with the single species ''Nemaxera betulinella'' placed here. The species occurs in we ...

''. In addition to this case of mistaken identity, the white-shouldered house moth as discussed by Hübner had actually been named ''Tinea lactella'' by J. N. C. M. Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775. Earlier still, Carl Linnaeus had described the white-shouldered house moth as ''

Phalaena ''Phalaena'' is an obsolete genus of Lepidoptera used by Carl Linnaeus to house most moths. ''Phalaena'' was one of three genera used by Linnaeus to cover all Lepidoptera. ''Papilio'' included all butterflies at that time, ''Sphinx'' included al ...

( Tinea) sarcitrella'' in 1758, but neither Denis and Schiffermüller nor Hübner did remember it. Later authors, who were aware of the earlier descriptions, supposed the taxon of Denis and Schiffermüller or that of Linnaeus to be this type of ''Endrosis''.Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (2004)
Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species
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''Endrosis''
Version of 2004-NOV-05. Retrieved 2010-APR-28. Hübner, however, believed to have identified his white-shouldered house moths correctly with Fabricius' ''A. betulinella'' and disregarded ''T. lactella'' entirely. Thus, the taxon ''T. lactella'' (though not the white-shouldered house moth species as a whole) was not included in ''Endrosis'' at the genus' inception, and such a change of type species can only be made by the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

– it is not permitted in the rules of zoological nomenclature to prevent the confusion and misinterpretations of scientific names that was frequent before the early 20th century. Over the years, a number of supposed close relatives of the white-shouldered house moth were described. Soon enough, they were all grouped in ''Endrosis''. What remained unclear was how many species there were, and whether any

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 ...

s stood out. With reports of the species accumulating from all over the world, it was eventually realized that this moth must have tagged along '' Homo sapiens'' and spread with human habitation since

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

times. In this single global

gene pool The gene pool is the set of all genes, or genetic information, in any population, usually of a particular species. Description A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can surv ...

, few if any current authors recognize more than a single species, ''E. sarcitrella''.Savela, Markku (2009): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms &ndash
''Endrosis''
Version of 2009-AUG-02. Retrieved 2010-APR-28.

Synonyms

Invalid scientific names (

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 others) of the white-shouldered house moth are: * '' Alucita betulinella'' '' sensu'' Hübner, 1796 (''non'' Fabricius, 1787: misidentified) * ''Endrosis betulinella'' (Hübner, 1818–19) * ''Endrosis fenestrella'' (Scopoli, 1763) * ''Endrosis kennecottella'' ('' lapsus'') * ''Endrosis kennicottella'' Clemens, 1860 * ''Endrosis lacteella'' (''lapsus'') * ''Endrosis lactella'' (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) * ''Endrosis lactella'' var. ''antarctica'' Staudinger, 1899 * ''Endrosis subditella'' (Walker, 1864) * ''Gelechia subditella'' Walker, 1864 * ''Phalaena fenestrella'' Scopoli, 1763 * ''Phalaena (Tinea) sarcitrella'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * '' Tinea betulinella'' ''sensu'' Hübner, 1825 (''non'' Fabricius, 1787: misidentified) * ''Tinea lacteella'' (''lapsus'') * ''Tinea lactella'' Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775

References

External links

White-shouldered house-moth on UKmothsMuseumpests.net White-shouldered house moth fact sheetLepiforum.de
{{Authority control Oecophorinae Moths described in 1758 Moths of Africa Moths of Europe Moths of Iceland Moths of New Zealand Moths of Asia Moths of Réunion Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus