The Varied Carpet Beetle Is Your Home Infested – The Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci) is a relatively new pest to the north of Great Britain having been pretty much to the south but now pest controllers in Cheshire, Lancashire and Manchester are increasingly being called out to infestations of this insect pest.
The carpet beetle is a very distinctive, easily identified beetle that can be a serious pest in the home. Its larvae feeds on natural fibres and can eat anything of natural origin, such as woolen carpets, furniture and clothing made from natural fibres.
The larval form is called a woolly bear, a common name it shares with the larvae of Pyrrharctia isabella or the Isabella Tiger moth.
The Varied Carpet Beetle was the first insect to be shown to have a circadian and an annual cycle and to this date remains a classic example of circannual cycles in insects.
The larval form of A. verbasci are circa 4-5 mm in length. The body has a pattern of alternating light and brown stripes. The larvae is usually thicker at the back than at the front and contains 3 pairs of hair tufts along its rear abdomen that can be used for defending itself
The adult carpet beetle range from 1.7 to 3.5 mm in length. Their dorsal surface has scales of two colours, off .white and yellowish-brown. White scales are condensed along the lateral margins of the pronotum. In addition, their antennae are 11-segmented with a club of 3 segments.
A Verbasci or The Varied Carpet Beetle has a very strange life cycle for an insect, the development from larvae to adult can take anything from one to three years, according to environmental conditions.
Larvae hatch from eggs in the spring, very often they are associated with birds nests or around stored natural fabrics Larvae feed on natural fibres throughout their larval stage, eventually experiencing a dormancy or diapause before completing pupation and emerging as an adult. A. verbasci adults emerge between March and early August, and feed on pollen.
These insect pests cause both physical damage by their larvae devouring natural fibres and psychological trauma from the vast numbers of these pests which can emerge into homes.
When dealing with these pests it is important to look for the presence of birds nesting material and remove any nests and feathers etc. from the affected area before treating with an appropriate insecticide.
It is vital to note that in Britain legislation affects the damaging of birds nests, including starlings and house sparrows which are two of the common birds which are connected with A.verbasci so professional advice should be sought to avoid falling foul of the law.
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