(Common) Clothes Moth Tineola bisselliella
The Clothes Moth, sometimes called Common Clothes Moth, is one of a few moths whose larvae eat clothes and household/museum materials.
One of nature's recyclers, the moth would be thought pretty with its pink-gold highlights and auburn hair if it's children weren't so destructive.
One of nature's recyclers, the moth would be thought pretty with its pink-gold highlights and auburn hair if it's children weren't so destructive.
Since its lives mainly inside, it is around all year, preferring dark places like wardrobes. Unfortunately, it and its few (Tineola and Tinea)
relatives give other moths a bad name.
Most of the 2500 moths in the UK (and 200,000 globally) do no harm to humans or their possessions/food.
While the Clothes Moths don't actually eat, their larvae (caterpillars) are designed to eat wool, silk, paper and organic material.
Many of the Clothes Moth's relatives live outside and eat debris from birds' nests and aviaries or sheep's wool/animal moultings -- Nature's rubbish recyclers.
Wingspan: 9-16mm.
Wingspan: 9-16mm.
Large Pale Clothes Moth
Tinea pallescentella
The Large Pale Clothes Moth is silver-fawn rather than gold-pink a little bigger than the Common Clothes Moth.
The habits of its larvae are similar. Wingspan: 12-15mm.
Brown-dotted Clothes Moth
Niditinea fuscella
The Brown-dotted Clothes Moth lives predominantly outside, its larvae recycling debris from birds' nests and aviaries.
Wingspan: c.14mm.
Links:
Case-bearing Clothes Moth