Clothes moth
common name for several species of moth whose larvae eat animal fibres including clothing and other fabrics, e.g.: Niditinea fuscella, Tinea pellionella, Tinea bisselliella, Trichophaga tapetzella, Monopis crocicapitella
Clothes moth or clothing moth is the common name for several species of moth considered to be pests, whose larvae eat animal fibres (hairs), including clothing and other fabrics.
These include:
Tineola bisselliella, the common clothes moth or webbing clothes moth
Tinea pellionella, the case-bearing clothes moth. Obsolete names are: Phalaena (Tinea) pellionella, Phalaena zoolegella, Tinea demiurga, Tinea gerasimovi, and Tinea pelliomella
Trichophaga tapetzella, the carpet moth or tapestry moth
Monopis crocicapitella, pale-backed clothes moth. Particularly destructive of textiles, and found to have increased dramatically in south-west England in 2018.
Niditinea fuscella, the brown-dotted clothes moth
Diet and infestation
The larvae of clothes moths can eat animal fibres which are not removed by other scavengers, and are capable of consuming and digesting keratin materials that make up silk, wool, fur, and hair. This allows clothes moths to attack human-made garments and textiles which include animal fibres, damaging them and leading to the common name of these pests.
Household-wide infestations can stem from a single textile item, such as a garment or rug, with potential targets besides garments including upholstery, toys, or even taxidermied animals. Discarded fibres found around the home can contribute to infestations as well, such as pet sheddings, hair and fur buildup inside vents and air ducts, or birds' nests built inside some part of a house. Basements and attics are commonly the most heavily affected areas. Larvae can also sometimes act as bookworms, chewing through paper (which they cannot digest for nutrition) to reach book bindings or mold colonies for nourishment.
The public source identifies “Clothes moth” as common name for several species of moth whose larvae eat animal fibres including clothing and other fabrics, e.g.: Niditinea fuscella, Tinea pellionella, Tinea bisselliella, Trichophaga tapetzella, Monopis crocicapitella. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Clothes, moth and common.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Clothes moth”, the useful work is to connect “common name for several species of moth whose larvae eat animal fibres including clothing and other fabrics, e.g.: Niditinea fuscella, Tinea pellionella, Tinea bisselliella, Trichophaga tapetzella, Monopis crocicapitella” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 30, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q25036256. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2018.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Clothes moth” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.