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Anthrenus verbascivaried carpet beetle

By Deena Hauze

Ge­o­graphic Range

An­threnus ver­basci, com­monly known as var­ied car­pet bee­tles, are an in­tro­duced Palearc­tic species. A cos­mopoli­tan species, they are nearly world­wide in dis­tri­b­u­tion, in­clud­ing the Nearc­tic, Palearc­tic, Ori­en­tal, and Neotrop­i­cal re­gions. They have also been found in South Amer­ica. Var­ied car­pet bee­tles were in­tro­duced in North Amer­ica around 1850. (Ab­del-Dayem, et al., 2017; Bous­quet, 1990; Majka, 2007; Robin­son, 2005)

Habi­tat

Var­ied car­pet bee­tles are found in tem­per­ate re­gions. Adult An­threnus ver­basci from out­door pop­u­la­tions can be found on flow­er­ing plants, es­pe­cially those in the genus of mead­owsweets. Var­ied car­pet bee­tles oc­cupy nests of birds, such as spar­rows and swal­lows, and bat roosts. Pri­mar­ily a house­hold pest, in­door pop­u­la­tions are found in stored food ma­te­ri­als, plant ma­te­ri­als (dried fruit and nuts), and an­i­mal ma­te­ri­als (wool, fur, skins). They are com­monly found in dried-milk fac­to­ries, and less fre­quently in flour mills and var­i­ous ware­houses. They occur in wasp nests in at­tics and under the sid­ing of homes. (Bous­quet, 1990; Majka, 2007; Robin­son, 2005)

Eggs and lar­vae are found on an­i­mal ma­te­ri­als, such as wool, skin, or fur, or in the nests of birds, such as spar­rows, star­lings, corvids, swifts, and in bat roosts. Lar­vae are known to be on dried in­sect col­lec­tions and silk­worm moth co­coons. (Bous­quet, 1990; Majka, 2007; Robin­son, 2005)

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Adult var­ied car­pet bee­tles range in length from 2-3 mm. The body is rounded with an ir­reg­u­lar pat­tern of color. The dor­sal sur­face is cov­ered in fine scales of brown­ish-yel­low, white, and black color. The white scales form pat­terns that partly merge to form three wavy trans­verse bands. The un­der­side has scales of grey­ish-yel­low color. Adult var­ied car­pet bee­tles have wings. (Bous­quet, 1990; Robin­son, 2005; Shet­lar, 2011)

Var­ied car­pet bee­tles are dis­tinct from other bee­tles in their genus (An­threnus) in hav­ing 11-seg­mented an­tenna and in hav­ing body scales more than twice as long as wide. They can be dif­fer­en­ti­ated from the 11-seg­mented an­ten­nae com­mon car­pet bee­tles by the width and length of the scales. (Bous­quet, 1990; Robin­son, 2005)

Full-grown lar­val bee­tles range in length from 4-5 mm and pre­sent tufts of setae. Lar­vae have elon­gated bod­ies with a nar­row front and broad rear. The setae form light- and dark-brown trans­verse stripes across the body. Dense setae cover each side of the pos­te­rior end. (Robin­son, 2005; Shet­lar, 2011)

  • Range length
    2 to 3 mm
    0.08 to 0.12 in

De­vel­op­ment

Eggs are laid in­di­vid­u­ally or in batches. Hatch­ing times are de­pen­dent on tem­per­a­ture, last­ing 30–35 days at 18 ◦C and de­creas­ing to 10–12 days at 29 ◦C. Lar­val de­vel­op­ment is af­fected by tem­per­a­ture, rel­a­tive hu­mid­ity, and food qual­ity; typ­i­cally tak­ing 222-323 days at a tem­per­a­ture be­tween 15–25 ◦C. The last lar­val skin serves as the pupal case for pu­pa­tion; adults re­main in­ac­tive for 1-8 days be­fore emerg­ing from the case. The pupal pe­riod lasts 17–19 days at 18 ◦C and de­creases with in­creas­ing tem­per­a­ture to 7–8 days at 29 ◦C. Adults live and re­pro­duce 20-60 days after emerg­ing from pu­pa­tion. (Blake, 1961; Robin­son, 2005)

Pu­pa­tion oc­curs in a cir­can­nual rhythm. The pe­ri­od­ic­ity of pu­pa­tion is de­pen­dent on the tem­per­a­ture and en­vi­ron­ment. Di­a­pause de­pends on tem­per­a­ture; one di­a­pause oc­curs at 25 ◦C with com­plete de­vel­op­ment in one year, while two di­a­pause stages occur at 15 ◦C with a life cycle of 2 years. House­hold var­ied car­pet bee­tles pro­duce adults in the fall, while out­door pop­u­la­tions pro­duce adults in the spring. (Miyazaki, et al., 2009; Robin­son, 2005)

Meta­mor­pho­sis hap­pens around the same time each year. The spe­cific time it hap­pens de­pends on the tem­per­a­ture and en­vi­ron­ment. House­hold adult car­pet bee­tles pro­duce adults in the fall. Field pop­u­la­tions pro­duce adults in the spring. (Miyazaki, et al., 2009; Robin­son, 2005)

Re­pro­duc­tion

Cop­u­la­tion can last from 1-9 min­utes. Males and fe­males take mul­ti­ple mates. (Wo­j­cik, 1969)

Var­ied car­pet bee­tles live and re­pro­duce for 20-60 days after emerg­ing from pu­pa­tion in spring to early sum­mer. Adult var­ied car­pet bee­tles from out­door pop­u­la­tions have an at­trac­tion to light and mate on the plants they feed on. Those from in­door pop­u­la­tions have a pos­i­tive at­trac­tion to light only near the end of their ovipo­si­tion pe­riod. Adult bee­tles do not re­quire food or water to re­pro­duce. The fe­cun­dity of bee­tles is around 100 eggs. Eggs are laid in­di­vid­u­ally or in batches. (Blake, 1958; Robin­son, 2005)

  • Breeding interval
    Varied carpet beetles breed yearly.
  • Breeding season
    Varied carpet beetles breed in spring and early summer.
  • Range eggs per season
    50 (high)
  • Range gestation period
    4 to 35 days
  • Average gestation period
    18 days
  • Average time to independence
    0 minutes
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    1 to 2 years
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    1 to 2 years

No parental in­volve­ment oc­curs. (Robin­son, 2005)

  • Parental Investment
  • no parental involvement

Lifes­pan/Longevity

The life cycle of var­ied car­pet bee­tles ranges from 1-2 years de­pend­ing on tem­per­a­tures. Low tem­per­a­tures ex­tend the length of the lar­val de­vel­op­ment cycle and pu­pa­tion. Sim­i­larly, high tem­per­a­tures shorten the time spent in de­vel­op­ment. Out­door pop­u­la­tions tend to­wards longer lifes­pans due to the im­pact of win­ter tem­per­a­tures on their rate of de­vel­op­ment. (Blake, 1958; Robin­son, 2005)

  • Range lifespan
    Status: wild
    2+ (high) years
  • Typical lifespan
    Status: wild
    1 to 2 years

Be­hav­ior

Var­ied car­pet bee­tles live in colonies. In­door colonies can get into stores of food. Adults can fly, but they like to stay close to their homes. (Robin­son, 2005)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Var­ied car­pet bee­tles use their sense of sight, touch, and chem­i­cal re­cep­tors to get in­for­ma­tion. They use pheromones to find mates. (Mayer, 2019; Wo­j­cik, 1969)

Food Habits

In­door pop­u­la­tions feed on stored food ma­te­ri­als, such as wheat, maize, oats, rice, bis­cuits, cakes, seeds, cayenne pep­per, cacao, and dried cheese. They also feed on wool, fur, skins, and are known to feed on in­sect col­lec­tions and silk­worm co­coons. Out­door pop­u­la­tions of adult var­ied car­pet bee­tles feed pri­mar­ily on pollen and nec­tar from the mead­owsweet genus, but also from the hog­weed, chervil, ground elder, um­bel­lifer, yarrow, chamomile gen­era, and the daisy fam­ily. (Majka, 2007; Robin­son, 2005)

  • Animal Foods
  • insects
  • Plant Foods
  • seeds, grains, and nuts
  • fruit
  • pollen
  • flowers

Pre­da­tion

Adult par­a­sitoid wasps in the fam­ily Bethyl­i­dae are preda­tors of var­ied car­pet bee­tles. (Robin­son, 2005)

Adult wasps in the fam­ily Bethyl­i­dae are preda­tors of var­ied car­pet bee­tles. (Robin­son, 2005)

  • Known Predators

Ecosys­tem Roles

Adult var­ied car­pet bee­tles are pol­li­na­tors of the species of plants they feed and mate on. Par­a­sitic wasps (Bethyl­i­dae) have been recorded. (Robin­son, 2005)

  • Ecosystem Impact
  • pollinates
Com­men­sal/Par­a­sitic Species

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Var­ied car­pet bee­tles are a pol­li­na­tor of flow­er­ing plants. (Robin­son, 2005)

  • Positive Impacts
  • pollinates crops

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Var­ied car­pet bee­tles are a well-known house­hold pest. They are known to in­fest fac­to­ries, mu­se­ums, and ware­houses. Often feed­ing on dried food stores and an­i­mal prod­ucts, they de­stroy house­hold goods. (Bous­quet, 1990; Robin­son, 2005)

  • Negative Impacts
  • household pest

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Con­trib­u­tors

Deena Hauze (au­thor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web Staff.

Glossary

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

World Map

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

Palearctic

living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.

World Map

agricultural

living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

colonial

used loosely to describe any group of organisms living together or in close proximity to each other - for example nesting shorebirds that live in large colonies. More specifically refers to a group of organisms in which members act as specialized subunits (a continuous, modular society) - as in clonal organisms.

cosmopolitan

having a worldwide distribution. Found on all continents (except maybe Antarctica) and in all biogeographic provinces; or in all the major oceans (Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific.

diapause

a period of time when growth or development is suspended in insects and other invertebrates, it can usually only be ended the appropriate environmental stimulus.

ectothermic

animals which must use heat acquired from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate body temperature

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

folivore

an animal that mainly eats leaves.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

herbivore

An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.

internal fertilization

fertilization takes place within the female's body

introduced

referring to animal species that have been transported to and established populations in regions outside of their natural range, usually through human action.

metamorphosis

A large change in the shape or structure of an animal that happens as the animal grows. In insects, "incomplete metamorphosis" is when young animals are similar to adults and change gradually into the adult form, and "complete metamorphosis" is when there is a profound change between larval and adult forms. Butterflies have complete metamorphosis, grasshoppers have incomplete metamorphosis.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

oriental

found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.

World Map

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

pheromones

chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species

polygynandrous

the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sedentary

remains in the same area

semelparous

offspring are all produced in a single group (litter, clutch, etc.), after which the parent usually dies. Semelparous organisms often only live through a single season/year (or other periodic change in conditions) but may live for many seasons. In both cases reproduction occurs as a single investment of energy in offspring, with no future chance for investment in reproduction.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

suburban

living in residential areas on the outskirts of large cities or towns.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

urban

living in cities and large towns, landscapes dominated by human structures and activity.

visual

uses sight to communicate

Ref­er­ences

Ab­del-Dayem, M., H. Fad, A. El-Torkey, A. El­ghar­bawy, Y. Aldry­him, B. Kon­drati­eff, A. Al Ansi, H. Ald­hafer. 2017. The bee­tle fauna (In­secta, Coleoptera) of the Rawd­hat Khorim Na­tional Park, Cen­tral Saudi Ara­bia. ZooKeys, 653: 1-78. Ac­cessed April 26, 2020 at https://​zookeys.​pensoft.​net/​article/​10252/​list/​9/​.

Blake, G. 1958. Di­a­pause and the Reg­u­la­tion of De­vel­op­ment in An­threnus ver­basci (L.) (Col., Der­mesti­dae). Bul­letin of En­to­mo­log­i­cal Re­search, 49(4): 751-775.

Blake, G. 1961. Length of life, fe­cun­dity and the ovipo­si­tion cycle in An­threnus ver­basci (L.) (Col., Der­mesti­dae) as af­fected by adult diet.. Bul­letin of En­to­mo­log­i­cal Re­search, 52(3): 459-472.

Bous­quet, Y. 1990. Bee­tles As­so­ci­ated with Stored Prod­ucts in Canada: An iden­ti­fi­ca­tion guide. Ot­tawa: Re­search Branch Agri­cul­ture Canada, Pub­li­ca­tion 1837.

Majka, C. 2007. The Derodon­ti­dae, Der­mesti­dae, Bostrichi­dae, and Anobi­idae of the Mar­itime Provinces of Canada (Coleoptera: Bostrichi­formia). Zootaxa, 1573: 1-38. Ac­cessed April 26, 2020 at https://​www.​researchgate.​net/​publication/​228385936_​The_​Derodontidae_​Dermestidae_​Bostrichidae_​and_​Anobiidae_​of_​the_​Maritime_​Provinces_​of_​Canada_​Coleoptera_​Bostrichiformia.

Mayer, M. 2019. Hand­book of In­sect Pheromones and Sex At­trac­tants. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Miyazaki, Y., T. Nisimura, H. Nu­mata. 2009. A cir­ca­dian sys­tem is in­volved in pho­tope­ri­odic en­train­ment of the cir­can­nual rhythm of An­threnus ver­basci. Jour­nal of In­sect Phys­i­ol­ogy, 55 (4): 494-498. Ac­cessed April 26, 2020 at https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​j.​jinsphys.​2008.​12.​003.

Robin­son, W. 2005. Urban In­sects and Arach­nids: A Hand­book of Urban En­to­mol­ogy. Cam­bridge: Cam­bridge Uni­ver­sity Press. Ac­cessed April 24, 2020 at http://​www.​bio-nica.​info/​biblioteca/​Robinson2005UrbanInsects.​pdf.

Shet­lar, D. 2011. "Car­pet Bee­tles" (On-line). Ohi­o­line. Ac­cessed April 24, 2020 at https://​ohioline.​osu.​edu/​factsheet/​HYG-2103-10.

Wo­j­cik, D. 1969. Mat­ing Be­hav­ior of 8 Stored-Prod­uct Bee­tles (Coleoptera: Der­mesti­dae, Tene­bri­on­idae, Cu­cu­ji­dae, and Cur­culion­idae). Florida En­to­mol­o­gist, 52(3): 174-176. Ac­cessed April 29, 2020 at https://​journals.​flvc.​org/​flaent/​article/​view/​56506/​54185.

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Classification

Classification

  • Kingdom Animalia animals
  • Class Insecta insects
  • Order Coleoptera
  • Family Dermestidae dermestid beetles, skin beetles
  • Genus Anthrenus
  • Species Anthrenus verbasci varied carpet beetle