Casemaking Clothes Moth vs Brown Locust

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Casemaking Clothes Moth Brown Locust
Scientific Name Tinea pellionella Locustana pardalina
Order Lepidoptera Orthoptera
Family Tineidae Acrididae
Size 10-15 mm wingspan 30-45 mm
Habitat Underground Heathland
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Cosmopolitan South Africa (Karoo region), Namibia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Casemaking Clothes Moth

A small silvery-brown moth whose larva constructs a portable silken case that it drags along as it feeds. It is a significant pest of furs, woolens, and museum specimens.

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Did You Know?

The larva never leaves its portable case, enlarging it as it grows by adding fibers from whatever material it is eating.

Brown Locust

A medium-sized brown locust endemic to southern Africa that periodically swarms in the Karoo region. Nymphs are known as voetgangers (foot walkers).

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Did You Know?

Swarms of brown locusts have plagued South African farmers since the 1700s and remain a major agricultural threat.