Common Clothes Moth

Also known as the Webbing Clothes Moth, this small pale golden-brown moth has reddish hairs on its head and usually lives indoors. As indicated by its name, its larvae will eat clothes or carpets made of wool or other natural materials but you can deter them from households.

The female will lay her eggs close to a source of food. Once hatched, the larvae will feed for at least two months. They are creamy-white with a brown head and they feed from inside a silky tube. Where several larvae live together they can appear to be covered in a dense cobweb-like webbing. They spin a cocoon to pupate in for 1-2 months before emerging as an adult.

Flight Times

The Common Clothes Moth broods continuously from February to September. Adults are usually active in the late afternoon.

Size and Family

• Family – Tineidae

• Small-sized 

• Wingspan Range – 9-16mm

Conservation Status

• Common

Caterpillar Food Plants

The larvae feed on animal materials such as wool, feathers, fur and hair.

Habitat

They generally live indoors although they are occasionally found in birds’ nests or wasps’ nests.

Distribution

• Countries – England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland

• This is a common and widely-distributed species across Britain.