Class: Insects
Size: 0.5 to 1cm
Weight: Variable
Age: As moth maximum two weeks
Appearance: Yellow-brownish
Sexual dimorphism: No
Food: Hair, wool
Distribution: Worldwide, most common moth species of about 200’000 moth species
Original location: Unknown
Sleep-wake rhythm: Diurnal and nocturnal
Habitat: Nests of birds and mammals
Natural enemies: Ichneumon wasp
Sexual maturity: With development into a moth
Mating season: At appropriate temperatures all year round
Egg laying: 50 to 250 eggs
Threatened with extinction: No

• The clothes moth is a type of moth that belongs to the true moths.
• It is distributed worldwide and likes to live in dark or warm rooms with little light, where it finds a good food source.
• Since the larvae of the clothes moth feed on keratinous animal materials, they are mainly found in wardrobes and living rooms. There it likes to eat clothes made of wool, carpets and upholstered furniture.
• In the wild, clothes moth larvae also inhabit birds’ nests and mammals’ abodes, where they feed on hair and feathers.
• The clothes moth is an important pest that destroys textiles, furs and other items made of animal materials because of the feeding marks left behind.
• Clothes moths like to prefer woollen fabrics, upholstered furniture, feathers and furs to lay their eggs. This is why they are found in wardrobes as well as in living rooms. The animal hair used to make textiles contains keratin, the food base of moth larvae. Animal textiles are particularly at risk because plant or synthetic fabrics cannot be digested by the larvae. The result is perforated clothing and eaten textiles that can only be disposed of.
• The clothes moth grows between 5 to 10mm long and is easily recognised by its straw-yellow colour; a light brown colour of the shiny surface of the fringed wings is less common.
• The females lay up to 250 eggs up to four times a year directly on woollen or other textiles made of animal materials. The caterpillar hatches after two weeks and develops into a butterfly only a few months later.
• The number of generations depends strongly on climatic conditions. Clothes moths and their larvae feel most comfortable in high humidity and warm temperatures.
• Particularly strong reproduction can be observed in wardrobes where clothes are stored for a long time.
• The larvae of the clothes moths do not like to be disturbed by movement, which is why woollen clothing in particular should be shaken out and cleaned regularly.
• Adult butterflies do not eat and therefore only have vestigial, non-functional mouthparts.
• The life expectancy of the clothes moth is up to two weeks.