Nemaxera Explained

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.^[1]

The species occurs in western Eurasia east of France; it is also found in Great Britain but appears to be absent from the Balkans. Its caterpillars feed mainly on fungi, namely birch polypore (Fomitopsis betulina) and turkey tail (Trametes versicolor). To a lesser extent, they eat rotting wood.^[2]

Junior synonyms of N. betulinella are:^[3]

• Nemaxera emortuella (Zeller, 1839)
• Tinea betulinella Paykull, 1785
• Tinea concinnella Hübner, [1836]
• Tinea corticella Curtis, 1834 (non Linnaeus, 1758: preoccupied)
• Tinea emortuella Zeller, 1839  - type of genus Nemaxera

References

• (2009): Nemaxera. Version 2.1, 22 December 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
• (1942): Eigenartige Geschmacksrichtungen bei Kleinschmetterlingsraupen ["Strange tastes among micromoth caterpillars"]. Zeitschrift des Wiener Entomologen-Vereins 27: 105-109 [in German]. PDF fulltext
• (2004): Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species  - Nemaxera. Version of 5 November 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
• [2010]: Global Taxonomic Database of Tineidae (Lepidoptera). Retrieved 5 May 2010.
• (2001): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms  - Nemaxera. Version of 4 November 2001. Retrieved 5 May 2010.

Notes and References

1. Pitkin & Jenkins (2004), FE (2009), Robinson [2010], and see references in Savela (2001)
2. Grabe (1942), FE (2009), and see references in Savela (2001)
3. Pitkin & Jenkins (2004), FE (2009), Robinson [2010]