Scardiinae

Distinguished from other Tineidae subfamilies by the lack of gnathos in male genitalia. Larval features provide additional diagnostic characters. Some genera, such as Tinissa, exhibit elongate brown forewings with purple sheen and elongate hind legs with large tibial scale tufts; male genitalia with bilobate uncus.

Primarily distributed in Afrotropical, Oriental, and Australian regions. Records include China (Hainan, Yunnan, Taiwan, Guangxi), India, Sikkim, Bhutan, Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia.

Fungivorous; larvae feed on fungi. Tinissa species have been observed associated with fungus on bamboo.

• fungus on bamboo - food sourceHost association explicitly documented for Tinissa per Robinson 1976

Adults attracted to light; specimens frequently collected using light traps. Sexual dimorphism varies by genus; in Tinissa, dimorphism is not pronounced.

Fungivores; likely contribute to nutrient cycling through consumption of fungal material.

• other Tineidae subfamiliesScardiinae distinguished by lack of gnathos and specific larval features; other subfamilies such as Tineinae and Perissomasticinae possess gnathos and differ in genital morphology

• fungivore
• tineid moth
• tropical moth
• light-attracted

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Review of the genus Tinissa Walker, 1864 (Lepidoptera, Tineidae, Scardiinae) from China, with description of five new species.