12.026 BF236  –  Tineidae –  Tineinae – Tineola bisselliella – Common Clothes Moth – (Hummel, 1823) Adult Micro:  CAT 1 – Distinctive Species –       PDF Icon – click for General Verification Guidelines  |   PDF Icon – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
Green –  Rare / Uncommon / Scarce   
Taxonomy:   Micro   >>  Tineidae  >> Tineinae
ID Difficulty:  amber  – care required in the identification process, as confusion with similar species is likely – quality photographs required.
ID pointers: Overall a light coffee brown colour with a darker brown head.
Distribution:  (Last record: 25 June 2024 at Melbourne, Norton Lees )  –  Once common about houses. Due to man-made fabrics and drier central heating systems, the species has become less frequent.Few records of this once very common moth.
Flight Period: February /  April /  May /  June /  July /  August /  September /  –  More or less continuously brooded apart from the winter months. Photographed: Yes –  Photographed By: Dave Evans  © All Rights Reserved
*** Last updated on 6 May 2025 by RP ***
Wingspan: 9-16mm
Food Plant: woollen clothing, upholstery and carpets.
Last Recorded Year: 2024
Last Recorded By – Tony Davison, Pete Mellor
Last Recorded General Area – Melbourne, Norton Lees

IMAGES BELOW:  Belper, Derbyshire – Dave Evans ©

 
 

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Distribution Map for Tineola bisselliella

Found 12 records
    ↳ 3 from After 2025
    ↳ 5 from 2020 - 2024
    ↳ 4 from Before 2020

If the Map Layers function fails, just refresh the page and it should be OK after. Use the +- zoom on the top left, or on a tablet, use two fingers to zoom. Remember, the last layer you ticked is the one which displays the popup information - they sit on top of each other - de-select then re-select, to see the popup values.

******* Choose ONLY one at a time, of either Monad, Tetrad or Hectad Distribution - each has it's own set of data. Also, the distribution maps cover ALL recorded data. *******

Bedrock Geology ** indirectly affects moth distribution by influencing the type of habitat and food plants available in an area. In turn, this may affect the types of moths that can thrive, or where they can most likely be found.

Land-cover * shows the variety of land-cover within the VC57 area, based on the CORINE (Coordination of Information on the Environment) forty-four thematic classes of land-cover. This will show, to a greater or lesser degree, the number and variety of moths found in different land-cover types. The UK continues to operate within the Copernicus programme, with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) providing Corine Land Cover (CLC) datasets for the UK and its territories.


NBN Atlas UK Distribution for – Tineola bisselliella

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Note – the NBN Atlas datasets are listed in the map below and vary in their currency (uptodateness) – however, the map does give a general indication of the moth's distribution across the UK.

Visit NBN Site


Monthly Records By Year: Tineola bisselliella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Monthly Counts By Year: Tineola bisselliella
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only. )


First/Last Recorded Dates: Tineola bisselliella
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]

Shading shows moth presence between dates

Click the colour discs below to Select/De-select as Required

Recordings By Year: Tineola bisselliella
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Tineola bisselliella
AGR: 9.68%   |   Total % Change: 300%


CUSUM Analysis: Tineola bisselliella
About this chart: CUSUM (Cumulative Sum) charts track long-term trends in moth populations [ filtered by 'Adult' and 'Mine' life stages ] by showing whether each year’s counts are above or below the historical average. Even small shifts build up over time, making trends of growth, stability, or decline easier to see. CUSUM highlights trend-consistency — asking: “Across the years, have moth counts mostly stayed above or below average?”
The data sample has 19 gap year/s here (zero records) between 2000 and 2025. The moth may have been present in those gap years, but no data was available. Too many year-gaps may exaggerate or skew the chart.

Counts for the current year (2025) are pro-rated based on data available up to month 7 (July) to provide a full-year equivalent.

Purple line rises = years better than average; falls = years worse than average.
Peak (best year) Trough (worst year) Growth periods Decline periods
Population peaked around 2025, reaching above average levels. The lowest population point occurred near 2024, showing a significant decline.

What the Y-axis "Cumulative Deviation" means: Cumulative Deviation shows the running total of how each year’s moth population count differs from the long-term average. i

Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Tineola bisselliella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )

Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Tineola bisselliella
( data includes Adult Stage only )

Flight Period chart – the grey hatched area above, which can cross one or more months, pictorially represents the best guess we have for this moth's flight periods [month/s]. The coloured lines represent the actual months seen in flight, from site observation records received between 2020-2025.

Records Behind the Map and Charts - Tineola bisselliella – 12 records available

Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns

TaxonSite NameTetradYearDateCountStageSource
Tineola bisselliellaWingerworth, DerbyshireSK36Y202509/06/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaWoodseats, SheffieldSK38L202504/05/202510adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaBuxtonSK07L202519/03/20251adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaMelbourne, DerbyshireSK32X202425/06/20241adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaNorton Lees, Sheffield (VC)SK38L202425/06/20242adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaWoodland AveSK43R202219/07/20221Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaWoodland AveSK43R202009/05/20201adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaShirland - Hallfieldgate LaneSK35Z202024/04/20201adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaMain Street, Kings NewtonSK32Y201701/06/20171Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaSheffield, England, United KingdomSK38L201702/06/20171Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaShirland-Hallfieldgate LaneSK35Z201513/07/20151Adultvc57_irecords_extract
Tineola bisselliellaBackgarden MarehaySK34Z201021/08/20101adultvc57_irecords_extract

 
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