This cosmopolitan species is the common clothes moth. It is very destructive. Damage to clothing occurs most commonly in dark, hidden areas, as under collars and cuffs, but sometimes the larvae are very active and may be seen crawling on clothes or on the floor beneath badly infested furniture. When feeding between the carpet and the floor, the larvae may extend their silken feeding tubes along the floor cracks, and the feeding pattern is indicated by the webbing beneath the carpet.

Besides feeding on clothes, carpets, rugs, and upholstered furniture, the webbing clothes moth feeds on furs, stored wool, and such miscellaneous articles as the animal bristles of brushes and the felts in pianos. In nature, it feeds on pollen, hair, feathers, wool, fur, dead insects, and dried animal remains.

Description:
Adult webbing clothes moths have a wingspread of about 1/2-inch and that of the male is somewhat less.. The body is about 1/4-inch long with wings folded and golden-yellow with a satiny sheen (see picture below). A tuft of reddish golden hairs on the head is upright and reddish-gold. Eggs are oval, ivory, and about 1/24-inch long. Larvae are a shiny, creamy white with a brown head, up to 1/2-inch long. The larvae spin long threads and construct tunnels of silk.

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