UKMoths Common Clothes Moth Tineola bisselliella - Distribution map
Please note that the NBN Gateway map service has been terminated as of 1 April 2017.
As soon as a replacement map service is available, distribution maps will hopefully appear here again.
In the meantime, you can get some idea of distribution from the NBN Atlas website.
12.026 BF236
Common Clothes Moth Tineola bisselliella
(Hummel, 1823)
Wingspan 9-16 mm.
Formerly far commoner than it is these days, this moth inhabits houses, and was at one time a pest species. Its decline is probably due to the increase in use of man-made fibres and the much drier atmosphere created by central heating.
The larva, as its vernacular name suggests, feeds on woollen clothing, upholstery and carpets, as well as other animal-based material, such as hair or fur. It lives in a silken tube, and when gregarious this can develop into a dense matting.
The moths are more or less continuously brooded except during the winter months.
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