12.026 BF236 – Common Clothes Moth – Tineola bisselliella – (Hummel, 1823)
Adult Micro: CAT 1 – Distinctive species unlikely to be confused with others –
– click for General Verification Guidelines | – click for Specific Verification Guidelines
– click for General Verification Guidelines | – click for Specific Verification Guidelines 
– Rare / Uncommon / Scarce
– 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.
General Comment: None *** Last updated on 2 October 2025 by RP ***
Last Recorded Year: 2024
Last Recorded By – Tony Davison, Pete Mellor
Last Recorded General Area – Melbourne, Norton Lees
Selected Images: Belper, Derbyshire – Dave Evans ©
Image Gallery
No gallery images found for this moth.
Temporal Distribution Chart
Adults: (between 2010 - 2025)
(click legend below to show/hide datasets)
This chart summarises all available historical occurrence records collated by ISO week of the year. It reflects recorder effort and sampling distribution as well as true biological activity, and should be interpreted as an indicative pattern of seasonal occurrence rather than a statistically controlled abundance or phenology model.
Distribution Map for Tineola bisselliella
Found 13 records
↳ from 2026+
↳ 9 from 2020 - 2025
↳ 4 from Before 2020
↳ from 2026+
↳ 9 from 2020 - 2025
↳ 4 from Before 2020
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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.
NBN Atlas UK Distribution for – Tineola bisselliella
⚠️ Please wait for the map to load fully – do not click the link shown.
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.
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: 8.17% | Total % Change: 225%
Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Tineola bisselliella
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Tineola bisselliella
Tineola bisselliella
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 2020-2026.
Records Behind the Map and Charts - Tineola bisselliella – 13 records available
Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns
| Site Name | Tetrad | Date | Count | Stage | Recorder | Source | RecordKey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sheffield | SK38M | 13/06/2025 | 1 | adult | Turner, Jan | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC42503160 |
| sheffield | SK38M | 12/06/2025 | 1 | adult | Turner, Jan | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC42254740 |
| Woodseats, Sheffield | SK38L | 04/05/2025 | 10 | adult | Jim Horsfall | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC41386217 |
| Buxton | SK07L | 19/03/2025 | 1 | adult | Steven Bell | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC40466713 |
| Melbourne, Derbyshire | SK32X | 25/06/2024 | 1 | adult | Davison, Tony | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC36666786 |
| Norton Lees, Sheffield (VC) | SK38L | 25/06/2024 | 2 | adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC38279198 |
| Woodland Ave | SK43R | 19/07/2022 | 1 | Adult | Thorpe, Steve | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC27846241 |
| Woodland Ave | SK43R | 09/05/2020 | 1 | adult | Thorpe, Steve | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC33500608 |
| Shirland - Hallfieldgate Lane | SK35Z | 24/04/2020 | 1 | adult | Mahadevan, Nikki | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC34963732 |
| Sheffield, England, United Kingdom | SK38L | 02/06/2017 | 1 | Adult | Mella, Pete | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC9892931 |
| Main Street, Kings Newton | SK32Y | 01/06/2017 | 1 | Adult | Soar, Will | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC34059786 |
| Shirland-Hallfieldgate Lane | SK35Z | 13/07/2015 | 1 | Adult | Mahadevan, Nikki | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC35070360 |
| Backgarden Marehay | SK34Z | 21/08/2010 | 1 | adult | Thorpe, Steve | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC33515533 |