Tineola bisselliella: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the tineola bisselliella lives – recorded in 18 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Tineola bisselliella
Group	Butterflies & moths
Found in	18 countries
Continents	Europe, North America, Oceania
Class	Insect
Order	Lepidoptera
Family	Tineidae

Where does the tineola bisselliella live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the tineola bisselliella in 18 countries and territories across Europe, North America and Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: New Zealand. In Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the tineola bisselliella?

The tineola bisselliella (Tineola bisselliella) is an insect in the order Lepidoptera and the family Tineidae, genus Tineola. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the tineola bisselliella

Tineola bisselliella, known as the common clothes moth, webbing clothes moth, or simply clothing moth, is a species of fungus moth (family Tineidae, subfamily Tineinae). It is the type species of its genus Tineola and was first described by the Swedish entomologist Arvid David Hummel in 1823. It and several closely related species are together known as the clothes moths due to their role as pests in human households. The specific name is commonly misspelled biselliella – for example, by G. A. W. Herrich-Schäffer, when he established Tineola in 1853.

The larvae (caterpillars) of this moth are considered a serious pest, as they can derive nourishment from clothing – in particular wool, but many other natural fibres – and also, like most related species, from stored foods, such as grains.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Tineola bisselliella (revision 1374983440), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1945889 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).