Carpet beetles which belong to the family of beetles known as dermestids are pests in warehouses homes museums and other locations where suitable food exists.
Varied carpet beetle cast skin.
Black carpet beetle larva left and adult right.
Carpet beetles can be sustained on even small amounts of food.
Larvae young carpet beetles are 1 8 to 1 4 inch long and.
Other common names include larder beetle hide or leather beetles carpet beetles and khapra beetles.
Cast skins may be found in great abundance and serve as a sign for a current or past infestation.
When carpet beetle larvae feed on furs animal mounts or bristle brushes they clip the hairs off at the base leaving a bald spot but not damaging the hide beneath.
The larva is tear drop shaped and is covered with rows of light brown hairs.
Varied carpet beetle final instar larval cast skin left and adults center and right.
Two main types of carpet beetles found in nebraska are the varied carpet beetle and black carpet beetle.
Shed larval skins in hidden areas.
Carpet beetle larvae molt or shed their skins several times as they grow.
The varied carpet beetle larva is primarily a scavenger.
They range in color from black to speckled with white brown yellow and orange.
They can range in size from 1 to 12 mm.
The varied carpet beetle adult is small 2 3 mm oval to round with splotches of white and yellow appearing to have a gray calico pattern.
Larvae undergo many molts where they shed their exoskeleton to progress to a larger more mature larval stage before pupating into an adult.
Adults are much smaller than the black carpet.
Key characteristics for adults are round oval shaped bodies.
Vacuum regularly and thoroughly to avoid build up of hair and skin flakes from people and pets.
Feeding damage caused by carpet beetles.
The varied carpet beetle anthrenus verbasci is a 3 mm long beetle belonging to the family dermestidae they are a common species often considered a pest of domestic houses and particularly natural history museums where the larvae may damage natural fibers and can damage carpets furniture clothing and insect collections.
Dermestidae are a family of coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles.
As noted earlier carpet beetle larvae feed on animal based materials especially wool felt fur silk feathers and leather.
A typical larva top and shed skin bottom.
The adults are 1 16 to 1 8 inch long and oval shaped.
