Cavities attractive to nesting birds should be blocked, eg by wire netting. They can also be destroyed by applications of proprietary insecticides or, where feasible, by putting affected items in bags for a day or two in a deep freezer (at -18 ☌).īecause birds' nests in roofs can act as important sources of infestations, these are best removed and destroyed. Such infestations can usually be prevented by regular use of a vacuum cleaner. Cleanliness within buildings is important as larvae can thrive out of sight and undisturbed, eg behind skirting boards, in the pile of woollen carpets (particularly close to skirting boards), in fibres and other organic dust between floor boards, and in the vicinity of spiders' webs, feeding there on any dead insects. Prevention is clearly more desirable than coping with a large infestation, which by the time it is discovered has already caused some damage. The cast - transparent skins shed by the larvae - are also a conspicuous sign of infestation. The varied carpet beetle is the only British species of the genus Anthrenus which is found in food stored products as well.Ĭlothing and carpets affected by the larvae of these beetles can be recognised by small, clean holes which are not accompanied by strands of silk webbing (as is usually the case with clothes moth infestations), but have powdery, dust like droppings associated with them. They will not feed on entirely synthetic fabrics. The larvae of carpet beetles are voracious feeders and can cause considerable damage to woollens and to dried insect and mammal collections. The adults live between two and six weeks. However, indoors, the whole cycle may complete in a year. Pupation takes place in the second spring. the cycle takes two summer seasons for the full development of adults. In winter, the larvae enter a resting period (diapause). The larvae need a temperature of 15-25 ☌ to develop. Thus, adults will emerge usually in the warmer months when their preferred food - pollen - is available. Periods of larval growth are followed by a diapause (resting period) which may help the beetles living outdoors to synchronise with the seasons. The females lay their eggs on or near a food source: materials containing chitin and keratin. Like other insects, varied carpet beetles pass through four different stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. It is also occasionally imported into Britain, mainly on dried fruit and nuts. The adults visit flowers to feed on pollen and nectar, and in houses are often found on windowsills trying to get outside. The larvae are usually domestic pests of woollen goods or museum pests, but also live in nests of birds and mammals. It is more common in the London area and the southern counties. It is a native, long-established species in Britain, and the most common of the genus Anthrenus here. Even so, separating related species is impossible without very powerful microscopes.Ī cosmopolitan species, the varied carpet beetle can be found in Europe, North America, Australia, etc. museorum is different in that all of its tergites are evenly coloured dark brown, and its head is also dark brown.ĭue to the small size of the larvae (4-4.5 mm) and because the differences between different stages of the same larva may be larger than differences between species, larvae are reliably identified only in their latest stage. The larva of the closely related Museum beetle A. The last three abdominal segments carry thick tufts of special hairs growing backwards which are characteristic of the genus Anthrenus. The head is always light brown to orange, even when the tergites are quite dark. The larva has unevenly coloured tergites (the plates on its back covering its body segments) the ones in the middle are lighter brown, the three thoracic tergites just behind the head and the very last four abdominal tergites are visibly darker. The larvae of carpet beetles are called woolly bears because of their bodies being covered in hairs.
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