Casemaking Clothes Moth vs European Corn Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Casemaking Clothes Moth European Corn Borer
Scientific Name Tinea pellionella Ostrinia nubilalis
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Tineidae Pyralidae
Size 10-15 mm wingspan 26-34 mm wingspan
Habitat Underground Farmland
Diet Omnivores Herbivores
Regions Cosmopolitan Europe, North America, Asia, North Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Casemaking Clothes Moth

A small silvery-brown moth whose larva constructs a portable silken case that it drags along as it feeds. It is a significant pest of furs, woolens, and museum specimens.

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Did You Know?

The larva never leaves its portable case, enlarging it as it grows by adding fibers from whatever material it is eating.

European Corn Borer

A small yellowish-brown moth that is one of the most destructive crop pests in the world. Larvae bore into corn stalks, causing billions of dollars in damage annually.

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Did You Know?

Female moths use two different pheromone strains, effectively creating reproductively isolated populations.