Anthrenus verbasci (Varied Carpet Beetle)

Photograph taken by on Thursday, June 09, 2016
Anthrenus verbasci (Varied Carpet Beetle)

Anthrenus verbasci (Varied Carpet Beetle)

These are varied carpet beetles (Anthrenus verbasci) on some sort of wild parsnip relative (similar to Queen Anne’s Lace, but not that). These little beetles, measuring only about 3mm in length, are often found indoors and eat stored food products (e.g., biscuits, cakes, seeds, wheat, maize, oats, rice, cayenne pepper, cacao, and dried cheese). They also are considered to be the world’s most important pest of insect collections. The adults feed on pollen, and that’s what these little fellows (or ladies, I really don’t know) are up to.

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