Insect identification > Lepidoptera > Heterocera > Webbing clothes moth

Webbing clothes moth

The webbing clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella Hum.). - This species, though found in the North, is most common in the South. The adult is of about the same size as that of the last-described species, but its forewings are uniformly yellowish. There are two generations each year.

The caterpillar feeds on the same materials as that of the case-bearing clothes moth and has also been known to eat cobwebs, dried specimens of insects and beef meal. It does not form a case but spins a sort of web of silk as it moves about.

When ready to pupate, it forms a cocoon of silk to which particles of wool, or whatever it has been feeding on, are added.