We describe and illustrate Niditinea sabroskyi, new species, the larvae of which are associated with bird nests. We provide diagnostic information to distinguish the new species from the other two species occurring in the United States, Niditinea fuscella (Linnaeus, 1758) and Niditinea orleansella (Chambers, 1873). Although there is a considerable amount of published literature on the biology of the most common species, N. fuscella, owing to the difficulty of identifying species of Niditinea, host records are unreliable. We show that N. sabroskyi is predominantly a bird nest associate, and that specimens identified as N. fuscella and previously associated with bird nests are actually misidentified. We also summarize the larval habitat information from specimens with confirmed identifications.
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15 March 2018
A New Species of Niditinea (Tineidae: Tineinae) with a Preference for Bird Nests, and the Known Larval Habitats of the Species in the United States
Mark A. Metz,
Donald R. Davis,
Mignon M. Davis
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American Robin
Caracara
chicken coop
chicken feathers
deer tick
European house sparrow
flying squirrel