Varied Carpet Beetle

Anthrenus verbasci · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Dermestidae

Also called: Carpet Beetle, Woolly Bear

Can damage your home. Its larvae can damage household items.

Varied Carpet Beetle — Photo: Marcel_Pepin, CC BY

Adults are tiny beetles 1.7 to 3.5 mm long with patterned white, brown and yellow scales on their wing covers and pronotum. The hairy larvae, which look striped because of alternating light and dark brown setae, feed on keratin and chitin in fabrics, feathers and hair, causing damage to clothing, carpets and other items.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The beetle’s wing covers and pronotum have fine scales that form irregular white, brownish and yellowish patches. Three bright wavy white bands run across the wing covers and along the sides of the pronotum.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults measure between 1.7 and 3.5 mm in length. Larvae are elongated and densely covered with large hairs that create a striped appearance.

Source: Wikipedia

Is it a pest in the house?

The larvae are a common indoor pest and can damage furniture, clothing, blankets, furs and carpets.

Source: Wikipedia

How to get rid of it

Regular vacuuming, dry cleaning, airing clothes, and using naphthalene balls can prevent infestations. Insecticides, freezing, oxygen deprivation, and pheromone traps can also be used to kill or deter them.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

They can be found both outdoors in open, flower-rich areas and indoors in homes, bird nests and stored fabrics.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae eat keratin and chitin from dead insects, animal hair and feathers. Adults feed on pollen and nectar of flowering plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

The whole life cycle takes 1 to 3 years depending on conditions. Eggs hatch in spring or early summer, often in bird nests or near stored fabrics.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults appear from late May to early August and live about two weeks.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species occurs across most of Europe, parts of Asia, North Africa, the Near East, North America and the Neotropics.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

The larvae are long, densely hairy, and show alternating light and dark brown stripe-like bands.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 46 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina.

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Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: introduced in North America; introduced in United States; introduced in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Varied Carpet Beetle photo 3 — Photo: Jakob Horz, CC BY

Varied Carpet Beetle photo 4 — Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY-SA

Varied Carpet Beetle photo 5 — Photo: unknown, CC0

Varied Carpet Beetle photo 6 — Photo: unknown, CC0

Questions people ask

What damage can the larvae cause?

The larvae feed on natural fibers like wool, feathers and hair, damaging clothing, carpets, blankets and other household items.

Source: Wikipedia

When are adult beetles active?

Adults are active from late May to early August and live for about two weeks, feeding on pollen and nectar.

Source: Wikipedia

How can I get rid of a carpet beetle infestation?

Clean regularly with a vacuum, dry-clean or air out fabrics, use naphthalene balls, and consider insecticides, freezing or pheromone traps for severe cases.

Source: Wikipedia