''Anthrenus (Anthrenus) scrophulariae'', also known as the common carpet beetle or buffalo carpet beetle, is a species of

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

originally found in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

, which has now spread to most of the world. Adult beetles feed on

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

and

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

, but the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e feed on animal fibres and can be damaging pests to

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

s and

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

specimens.

Description

The adult common carpet beetle varies from about in length. The antennae have eleven segments, three of which form a club, and the eyes are notched at the front. The head is black but is largely concealed under the

prothorax The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ...

, which is also black, liberally speckled with white scales apart from a band in the centre. The

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

(wing cases) are black with orange or reddish scales near the midline and variable but symmetric patches of white scales elsewhere. As the beetle gets older, the scales tend to get rubbed off so the beetle changes in appearance. The small white eggs are laid in batches of 30 to 60 and have projections which help them to adhere to carpet fibres. The larvae are brown and moult five times before

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

ting; the final

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'' 'form, likeness') is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, which occurs between each moult (''ecdysis'') until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to ...

larva is hairy and larger than the adult beetle. Pupation takes place in the last larval skin.

Distribution

The common carpet beetle originated in the

Palaearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

region, but has been widely introduced elsewhere, now being present in most parts of the world. However, it is more common in temperate parts of the northern hemisphere and less common in the tropics and humid regions.

Life cycle

Adult beetles feed on

and

, usually selecting white or whitish flowers such as

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum'') or common buckwheat is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. Buckwheat originated around the 6th millennium BCE in the region of what ...

, wild aster, daisy, ''

Spiraea ''Spiraea'' , sometimes spelled spirea in common names, and commonly known as meadowsweets or steeplebushes, is a genus of about 80 to 100 species

'' and ''

Ceanothus ''Ceanothus'' is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus. ''"Ceanothus" ...

''. This diet encourages mating and egg-laying, and the females seek out suitable locations with animal hairs or fibres for

ovipositing The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...

; these include bird and animal

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

bee hive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

s and the skins of dead animals, as well as indoor sites such as carpets, upholstery, fabrics or preserved animal material. The eggs hatch in two to three weeks, and the larvae chew at whatever animal fibres they find in their environment. After about two months the larvae pupate and the adult insects emerge about a month later and, if indoors, make their way into the open air.

Control

When the eggs are laid on carpets and household fabrics, the larvae feed on the animal fibres and make holes in the materials. Exhibits in museums may be eaten away, leaving a powdering of fine dust round dried insects in collections;

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

specimens may also be consumed. Human skin that comes into contact with the discarded larval skins may develop

dermatitis Dermatitis is a term used for different types of skin inflammation, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened ...

. Good hygiene and regular vacuuming may prevent infestations from happening. Small items can be placed in airtight containers to keep the beetles out, and both heat and cold treatments are effective against the larvae and eggs. In enclosed spaces,

mothball Mothballs are small balls of chemical pesticide and deodorant, sometimes used when storing clothing and other materials susceptible to damage from silverfish, Mold (fungus), mold or moth larvae (especially clothes moths like ''Tineola bissell ...

s can be placed as a repellent. Chemical treatments are possible but may not reach all the recesses where the insects lurk, and

fumigation Fumigation is a method of pest control or the removal of harmful microorganisms by completely filling an area with gaseous pesticides, or fumigants, to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is used to control pests in buildings (structural ...

may be necessary in extreme cases.

Variation

The species shows notable variation in certain regions of the world, with forms ranging from the common ''Anthrenus scrophulariae scrophulariae'', which has predominantly black scales with orange or red scales near the suture, to the entirely white ''Anthrenus scrophulariae albidus'', regarded as either a subspecies or variation. The ''albidus'' form occurs across a range that extends from Southeastern Europe (Croatia to Romania, and more south to Greece) through Turkey and is also reported from the Caucasus region, Syria and Uzbekistan.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1310700 scrophulariae Beetles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus