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Life Cycle and Habits:
Clothes moths rarely fly to lights at night and instead prefer darkness, such as a closet or storage chest. The adults are very active, can penetrate through surprisingly narrow cracks, and can fly considerable distances. Gravid females are weak fliers. Any clothes moths fluttering around the house are probably males, because females travel by either running, hopping, or trying to hide in the folds of clothing. The female dies after attaching about 40 to 50 eggs, singly or in groups of 2 or more, to the threads of infested clothes over a period of 2 to 3 weeks. The eggs hatch within an average of 4 to 10 days in summer, but take as long as 3 weeks in winter. The life cycle is about 65 to 90 days.

The newly hatched larvae are only about 1 mm long, and translucent white. Some larvae may spin a small, frail, silken tube or tunnel, incorporating into the silk some fibres, excrement, or cast skins. They then feed within the confines of the tube. Others may merely spin flat mats under which they crawl about, or remain naked for several days before they spin any webbing. Some larvae leave the webbing and crawl about unprotected.

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