Clothes moth species uk. The most common clothes moths are the webbing clothes moth easily identified with a golden colour and around half an inch in length and the case bearing moth which can be identified about inch long and their forewings are mottled brown with one large and a few smaller indistinct black spots. The brown house moth once the most common clothes eating moth would have been very familiar to victorians. Tineola bisselliella known as the common clothes moth webbing clothes moth or simply clothing moth is a species of fungus moth family tineidae subfamily tineinaeit is the type species of its genus tineola and was first described by arvid david hummel in 1823. Moth traps used by english heritage at its properties and storage sites found a 216 increase in the number of webbing clothes moths caught between 2012 and 2016.
Compare the 59 species of butterflies breeding in britain with some 900 species of large moths known as macro moths and a further 1550 or so species of micro moths. It lives in a silken tube and when gregarious this can develop into a dense matting. It prefers cool damp conditions and is no longer found so often in centrally heated. However operation clothes moth run by english heritage recently found increasing numbers of the pale backed cloths moth monopis crocicapitella particularly in the south of the uk.
The moths are more or less continuously brooded except during the winter months. But the common or webbing clothes moth tineola bisselliella is one of the most aggressive species and can be found across the world. 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. Common clothes moth tineola bisselliella.
It is a common invader inside houses and lives everywhere in britain except for the northernmost regions of scotland. It reaches up to 26 mm and has a slender yellowish body. The brown house moth is a scavenger which feeds on wool cotton and other types of cloth. These moths are small only 58 mm long and scuttle around only flying when its warm.
What is a clothes moth. The specific name is commonly misspelled biselliella for example by g. However four species of moths in particular can cause problems in your home or business. Our popular mottlock moth boxes are very efficient at catching the common clothes moth tineola bisselliella and the case bearing clothes moth tinea pellionella the commonest species in the uk.
There arent many pheromone clothes moth traps on the market that catch all three species but weve tracked.