Tumulitermes Mound Termite vs Casemaking Clothes Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Tumulitermes Mound Termite Casemaking Clothes Moth
Scientific Name Tumulitermes pastinator Tinea pellionella
Order Blattodea Lepidoptera
Family Termitidae Tineidae
Size 3-5 mm 10-15 mm wingspan
Habitat Grasslands Underground
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Northern Australia Cosmopolitan
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Tumulitermes Mound Termite

An Australian grass-harvesting termite that builds small columnar mounds in tropical savannas. Workers forage in open columns to harvest grass during cooler parts of the day. Nasute soldiers protect the foraging parties from ant attacks.

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Did You Know?

This species times its foraging precisely to avoid the heat of the day, emerging in synchronized mass foraging events at dawn and dusk.

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.