Carpet beetle larvae may crawl from place to place and may be found on items on which they do not feed. Unlike the adult beetles, the larvae avoid light and prefer to live in undisturbed places. Besides fabrics, carpet beetle larvae may also feed on other items such as stored cereals. Larvae of the case-making clothes moths live in silken cases, which they drag along with them as they move. Females moths lay from 100 to 150 small, pinhead-sized, white eggs on or near the fabric they infest.
Eggs usually hatch in about five days.
The length of the larval stage varies greatly, from six weeks to several years depending on the species and conditions where they live. It is the larvae that damage fabrics. Usually, clothes moth larvae do not wander like carpet beetle larvae, however they can occasionally be found off fabrics feeding on dust or other materials of animal origin. The adult moth emerges in one to four weeks. Adults do not feed nor are they attracted to lights.