Varied carpet beetle
The varied carpet beetle is a tiny, round beetle, only about as big as a sesame seed. Its back has a pretty pattern of white, brown and yellow scales. Outside it visits flowers, but its hairy babies can sneak into houses.
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Fun facts
Its larvae are called woolly bears, because they are covered in stripy brown hair.
In museums its larvae can nibble old insect collections, so museum workers keep a close eye on it.
It was the first insect found to have a body clock that runs for a whole year.
The grown-up beetle lives only about two weeks.
It often lays its eggs in bird nests, where there are feathers and dead insects for the babies to eat.
Most asked questions about Varied carpet beetle
?Are carpet beetles harmful?
Not to people. But their larvae can damage carpets, clothes and furniture made of natural materials.
?What do carpet beetles eat?
The adults eat pollen and nectar. The larvae eat hair, feathers, wool and dead insects.
?How big is a varied carpet beetle?
Very small, only 1.7 to 3.5 millimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Anthrenus verbasci
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Dermestidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Dermestidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America
- Also known as
- Woolly bear (larva)
Where the facts come from
- Varied carpet beetle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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