A Varied Carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci, found at Fareham, Hampshire, England, in June 2010.
The Varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci, is a small (3mm-long), attractive beetle whose ladybird-shaped body is covered with a pattern of coloured scales. The adults feed on pollen and nectar of flowering plants.
Anthrenus flies well, and may enter houses and other buildings through roof and other cavities, and lay eggs in old birds’ nests, on dried carrion, or on stored woollen or silk materials such as clothing and carpeting. On hatching, the larvae (covered in hairs and known as ‘woolly bears’) feed on natural fibres, feathers, and dead insects. Anthrenus is regarded as a serious pest of specimen collections in museums, and those of the Hampshire Cultural Trust are regularly inspected and treated accordingly.
