29April2010
Varied Carpet Beetles in Rochdale, Oldham and Bury.
The Varied Carpet Beetle Is Your Home Infested – The Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci) is a fairly new pest to the north of Britain having been pretty much to the balmy southern climate but now pest operatives in Cheshire, Lancashire and Manchester are increasingly having to deal with this insect pest.
A.Verbasci is a very distinctive, easily identified beetle that can be a serious nuisance in the household. Its larvae feeds on natural fibres and can damage anything of natural origin, such as woolen carpets, furniture and clothing made from natural fibres.
The larval form is called a woolly bear, a nickname it shares with the larvae of Pyrrharctia isabella or the Isabella Tiger moth.
The Varied Carpet Beetle was the very first insect to be shown to have a circadian and an annual cycle and to this date remains the classic example of circannual cycles in insect species.
The larvae of A. verbasci are circa 4-5 mm in length. The body has a pattern of alternating light- and dark-brown stripes. The body of the larvae is usually more wide at the rear than at the front end and also bears 3 pairs of hair tufts along its rear abdomen that are used for self-defence.
Adult insects range in size from 1.7 to 3.5 mm in length. Their elytra or wing case has scales of two colours, off .white and yellowish-brown. White scales are concentrated 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 unusual life cycle for an insect, developing from larvae to adult in 1-3 years, according to environmental conditions.
Larvae hatch from eggs in the spring, often they are associated with birds nests or around stored natural fabrics Larvae eat natural fibres throughout their larval stage, eventually emerging as an adult. Varied Carpet Beetle adults emerge between March and early August, and feed on pollen.
These insect pests cause both physical damage due to their larvae devouring natural and psychological upset from the enormous numbers of these pests which can infest homes.
When attempting to deal with these pests it is important to lookout for the presence of birds nesting material and remove any nests and feathers etc. from the affected area before treating with a suitable insecticide.
It is important to be aware that in Britain legislation affects the damaging of birds nests, including starlings and house sparrows which are the two common birds which have an association with A.verbasci so professional assistance should be sought to avoid falling foul of the law.