''Trichophaga tapetzella'', the tapestry moth or carpet moth, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

of the family

Tineidae Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera described by Pierre André Latreille in 1810. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in more than 300 genera. ...

. It is found worldwide. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

is 14–18 mm. The head is white, the forewings ochreous-white, thinly strigulated with grey; basal 2/5 dark purplish-fuscous; a roundish grey posterior discal spot; some small black spots about apex. Hindwings light brassy-grey.Reinhard Gaedike, 2019 Tineidae II : Myrmecozelinae, Perissomasticinae, Tineinae, Hieroxestinae, Teichobiinae and Stathmopolitinae ''Microlepidoptera of Europe'', vol. 9. Leiden : Brill The moth flies from June to September depending on the location. The larvae feed on animal skin, bird nests,

pellet Pellets are small particles typically created by compressing an original material. Pellet or pellets may refer to: People * Alain Pellet (born 1947), French lawyer * Gustave Pellet (1859–1919), French publisher of art * Laurent Pellet (born 197 ...

s, fur, clothing and floor and furniture covering made of animal skin. Tapestry moths complete their cycles within a year and are more like webbing clothes moths in that they spin webbing in areas where they like to reside. Their speed of development depends entirely upon local temperature, humidity and food supplies.

References

External links

Tapestry moth at UKmothsLepiforum.de
Tineinae Moths described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Tineidae-stub