What's eating your home? The Varied Carpet Beetle.

By: Ken Chadwick

The Varied Carpet Beetle – Is Your Home Infested - The Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci) is a relatively new pest to the north of Britain having been largely confined to the balmy southern climate but now pest controllers in Cheshire, Lancashire and Manchester are increasingly being called out to deal with this insect pest.
<BR><BR>It is a very distinctive, easily recognised beetle that can be a serious pest in the home. It feeds on natural fibres and can damage anything of natural origin, woolen carpets, furniture} and clothing.
<BR><BR>The larval form is known as a woolly bear, a nickname it shares with the larvae of Pyrrharctia isabella or the Isabella Tiger moth.
<BR><BR>A. verbasci was the first insect to be demonstrated to have a circadian and an annual cycle and to date remains a classic example of circannual cycles in insects.
<BR><BR>The larvae of A. verbasci are about 4-5 mm in length. The body has a pattern of alternating light and brown stripes. The body is usually wider at the back than at the front and contains 3 pairs of hair tufts on its rear abdomen that can be used for self-defence
<BR><BR>The adult carpet beetle range from 1.7 to 3.5 mm in length. Their elytra or wing case has scales of two colours, whitish and yellowish-brown.
<BR><BR>White scales are condensed along the lateral margins of the pronotum. In addition, their antennae have eleven segments with a club of 3 segments.
<BR><BR>The varied carpet beetle has a very unusual life cycle for an insect, the development from larvae to adult can take anything from 1-3 years, according to the environment in which it finds itself.
<BR><BR>Larvae hatch from eggs in the spring, very often they are associated with birds' nests or around stored natural fabrics Larvae devour natural fibres throughout their development, eventually emerging as an adult.
<BR><BR>Adults emerge between March and early August, and feed on pollen.
<BR><BR>These insect pests cause both physical damage by their larvae eating fabrics and psychological damage from the huge numbers of these pests which can emerge into homes.
<BR><BR>When attempting to deal with these insects it is important to lookout for the presence of birds' nests and remove any nests and feathers etc from the infested before treating with an appropriate insecticide.
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Bio:
Ken Chadwick B.A.(Hons) is a <a href="http://www.harrierpestprevention.co.uk">Pest Control</a> professional working as <a href="http://www.manchesterenvironmentalservices.com">Manchester Pest Control</a>. He frequently appears on radio and TV talking about <a href="http://www.harrierpestprevention.co.uk/carpetbeetles.html">Varied Carpet Beetles</a> and other related pests. <a href="http://www.article-submission-express.com">Article Submission</A> by Article Submission Express