Anthrenus

''Anthrenus'' is a genus of beetles in the family Dermestidae, the skin beetles. One of several genera of carpet beetles, ''Anthrenus'' was historically placed in a subfamily Anthreninae, though presently included in the Megatominae. The genus '' Neoanthrenus'' is closely related.

''Anthrenus'' carpet beetles are small beetles a few millimetres long with a rather rounded shape. Their antennae bear small clubs at the end, which are plumper in males than in females. Many have a delicate and rather pretty pattern, with a dark body covered in colorful scales of various brown, tan, red, whitish and grey hues. These scales rub off easily, and old individuals are often partially devoid of them, showing the shining black elytra. A considerable number of subspecies and varieties have been named, but it is questionable whether these are all valid or simply refer to such age-related differences. The massive number of species has been divided into several subgenera, but these are not too firmly established. The small subgenus ''Helocerus'' for example is sometimes entirely included in ''Florilinus''. Also, new species are being described every now and then.

These beetles range essentially all over the world; they have even colonized some remote oceanic islands. Most species are harmless pollen-eaters, with the long-haired larvae feeding on a wide range on dead animal or plant matter. This makes them important decomposers, which clean up decaying organisms. Some, however, most notoriously the museum beetle (''A. museorum''), are significant pests, infesting stored goods and especially biological specimens in museum collections. These species have caused considerable damage to biology by destroying valuable type specimens. Their larvae may cause considerable damage on wool, fur, feathers, and natural history collections.

Selected species

Subgenus ''Anthrenodes''
* ''Anthrenus ceylonicus''
* ''Anthrenus distinctus''
* '' Anthrenus guineaensis''
* '' Anthrenus israelicus''
* '' Anthrenus jordanicus''
* ''Anthrenus klapperichi''
* '' Anthrenus malkini''
* '' Anthrenus occultus''
* ''Anthrenus semenovi''
** ''Anthrenus semenovi'' var. ''rupestris''
* '' Anthrenus umbellatarum''

Subgenus ''Anthrenops''
* ''Anthrenus bellulus''
** ''Anthrenus bellulus ornatus''
* ''Anthrenus cervenkai''
* ''Anthrenus eichleri''
* '' Anthrenus geisthardti''
* ''Anthrenus hissaricus''
* ''Anthrenus oculatus''
* ''Anthrenus splendidus''
* ''Anthrenus zebra''

Subgenus ''Anthrenus''

* '' Anthrenus angustefasciatus''
* ''Anthrenus armstrongi''
* ''Anthrenus bartolozzii''
* ''Anthrenus botswaniensis''
* '' Anthrenus chiton'' Beal, 1998
* '' Anthrenus delicatus'' Kiesenwetter, 1851
* ''Anthrenus ethiopicus''
* ''Anthrenus festivus'' Erichson, 1846
* ''Anthrenus flavidulus''
* ''Anthrenus flavipes'' J.L.LeConte, 1854 – furniture carpet beetle
** ''Anthrenus flavipes albopunctatus''
* ''Anthrenus goliath'' Mulsant & Rey, 1868
* '' Anthrenus indicus''
* ''Anthrenus isabellinus'' Küster, 1848
* ''Anthrenus kantneri''
* '' Anthrenus katerinae''
* '' Anthrenus kenyaensis''
* '' Anthrenus latefasciatus''
* ''Anthrenus lepidus'' LeConte, 1854
* ''Anthrenus merkli''
* '' Anthrenus mesopotamicus''
* ''Anthrenus miniopictus''
* ''Anthrenus munroi'' Hinton, 1943
* '' Anthrenus namibicus''
* '' Anthrenus nipponensis''

* ''Anthrenus oceanicus'' Fauvel, 1903
* ''Anthrenus parvus'' Casey, 1900
* ''Anthrenus pfefferi''
* '' Anthrenus picturatus''
** ''Anthrenus picturatus arabicus''
** ''Anthrenus picturatus hintoni''
** ''Anthrenus picturatus makolskii''
** ''Anthrenus picturatus melanoleucus''
* '' Anthrenus pimpinellae'' Fabricius, 1775
** ''Anthrenus pimpinellae mroczkowskii'' Kalík, 1954
* '' Anthrenus rotundulus''
* '' Anthrenus scrophulariae'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – common carpet beetle
** ''Anthrenus scrophulariae'' var. ''albidus''
** ''Anthrenus scrophulariae'' var. ''gravidus''
** ''Anthrenus scrophulariae'' var. ''suecicus'' Palm, 1940
* ''Anthrenus senegalensis''
* ''Anthrenus simonis''
* ''Anthrenus sophonisba'' Beal, 1998
* ''Anthrenus tarnawskii''
* ''Anthrenus thoracicus'' Melsheimer, 1846
* '' Anthrenus x-signum''

Subgenus ''Florilinus''
* ''Anthrenus castaneae'' Melsheimer, 1846
* ''Anthrenus caucasicus''
* '' Anthrenus coreanus''
* ''Anthrenus flavidus''
* ''Anthrenus hartmanni''
* '' Anthrenus mugodsharicus''
* '' Anthrenus museorum'' (Linnaeus, 1761) – museum beetle
* ''Anthrenus oberthueri'' Reitter, 1881
* '' Anthrenus olgae'' Kalík, 1946
* ''Anthrenus pallidus''
* ''Anthrenus solskianus''
* '' Anthrenus sordidulus''
* '' Anthrenus sveci''
* ''Anthrenus tanakai''
* ''Anthrenus zhantievi''

Subgenus ''Helocerus''
* '' Anthrenus fuscus'' A.G.Olivier, 1789
* ''Anthrenus minutus'' Erichson, 1846
* '' Anthrenus polonicus'' Mroczkowski, 1951

Subgenus ''Nathrenus''

* ''Anthrenus albomaculatus''
* '' Anthrenus albostictus''
* ''Anthrenus basilewskyi''
* ''Anthrenus biskrensis'' Reitter, 1887
* ''Anthrenus boyesi''
* '' Anthrenus bulirschi''
* ''Anthrenus constantini''
* ''Anthrenus cordis''
* ''Anthrenus exilis''
* '' Anthrenus havai''
* ''Anthrenus kucerai''
* ''Anthrenus margarethae''
* ''Anthrenus mindanaoensis''
* ''Anthrenus nadeini''

* '' Anthrenus natalensis''
* ''Anthrenus obscurus''
* ''Anthrenus preissi''
* ''Anthrenus pubifer''
* ''Anthrenus schawalleri''
* '' Anthrenus signatus'' Erichson, 1846
** ''Anthrenus signatus'' var. ''incanus''
* ''Anthrenus snizeki''
* ''Anthrenus stelma''
* ''Anthrenus transcaspicus''
* '' Anthrenus tryznai''
* '' Anthrenus undatus''
* '' Anthrenus zahradniki''

Subgenus ''Ranthenus''
* ''Anthrenus alatauensis''
* ''Anthrenus kryzhanovskii''
* ''Anthrenus zeravshanicus''

Subgenus ''Solskinus''
* '' Anthrenus assimilis''
* ''Anthrenus bucharicus''
* '' Anthrenus dsungaricus''
* ''Anthrenus jacobsoni''
* ''Anthrenus tadzhicus''
* ''Anthrenus talassicus''

Subgenus undetermined
* '' Anthrenus amoenulus'' - ''Anthrenodes'' or ''Florilinus''?
* ''Anthrenus biscrensis'' - ''Florilinus''?
* '' Anthrenus blanci'' Beal, 1998
* ''Anthrenus coloratus'' Reitter, 1881 - ''Anthrenops'' or ''Florilinus''?
* ''Anthrenus fucosus'' Beal, 1998
* ''Anthrenus funebris'' - ''Florilinus''?
* ''Anthrenus minor'' - ''Anthrenodes'' or ''Florilinus''?
** ''Anthrenus minor'' ab. ''unicolor''
* ''Anthrenus molitor'' Aubé, 1850 - ''Florilinus'' or ''Nathrenus''?
* '' Anthrenus occidens'' Casey, 1900
* '' Anthrenus omoi'' Beal, 1998
* '' Anthrenus sarnicus'' – Guernsey carpet beetle - ''Anthrenodes'' or ''Florilinus''?
* '' Anthrenus signatus'' - ''Florilinus'' or ''Nathrenus''?
* ''Anthrenus tuvensis'' - ''Florilinus''?
* ''Anthrenus umbra'' Beal, 1998
* '' Anthrenus ussuricus'' - ''Florilinus''?
* ''Anthrenus verbasci'' – varied carpet beetle - ''Florilinus'' or ''Nathrenus''?
** ''Anthrenus verbasci'' var. ''nebulosus''
* ''Anthrenus versicolor'' Reitter, 1887 - ''Florilinus'' or ''Nathrenus''?

References

External links

''Anthrenus flavipes'', furniture carpet beetle

{{Authority control

Dermestidae genera