Carpet beetle larva from MN
Hello Daniel and Lisa.
Thanks to your site, which I visit almost daily now, I was able to identify a carpet beetle larva when I first saw it last year crawling up the wall in my room. Now I found another one this year in the same place and time, and now I have a better camera for getting a decent picture of it. I noticed that you made it the Bug of the Month for April, and the picture you have up there is a little blurry, so I thought you might like some clearer images. I’m still not sure of the species of this one though. I live in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Joel

Hi Joel,
Thanks for providing us with a sharper and more current image of a Carpet Beetle Larva. We scoured the archives for the one we originally posted in the Bug of the Month for April 2008 posting.

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bug on windowsill
In the last week (first week of March), we have seen several of these tiny beetle-like bugs on our windowsill. We’re concerned that they might be from possible dampness in the wall – or are they from a house plant. It’s too cold here yet, so you windows have not been open for fresh air and bugs! Thanks for helping us identify this tiny bug. It’s about 2 millimetres long.
Lauren

Hi Lauren,
This is an Anthrenus Carpet Beetle. It and its siblings have probably been living all winter in your home as fuzzy larvae, feeding on wool, feathers or fur, or some other animal product. Carpet Beetle infestations can do major damage to your valuables and are considered one of the most serious threats to natural history museum collections. Adult Carpet Beetles emerge in the spring and are attracted to windows. They feed on pollen as adults and are trying to get outside to feed.

Ed. Note: (04/04/2008)
It seems that daily we have been receiving multiple requests for the identification of Anthrenus Carpet Beetles, hence our decision to make them the Bug of the Month for April. These Carpet Beetles can be extremely destructive to museum collections as well as to natural fibers in the home. The larvae are fuzzy and are the destructive stage of the insect.

Carpet Beetle Larva
(04/13/2008) Carpet beetle larva from MN
Hello Daniel and Lisa.
Thanks to your site, which I visit almost daily now, I was able to identify a carpet beetle larva when I first saw it last year crawling up the wall in my room. Now I found another one this year in the same place and time, and now I have a better camera for getting a decent picture of it. I noticed that you made it the Bug of the Month for April, and the picture you have up there is a little blurry, so I thought you might like some clearer images. I’m still not sure of the species of this one though. I live in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Joel

Hi Joel,
Thanks for providing us with a sharper and more current image of a Carpet Beetle Larva. We scoured the archives for the one we originally posted in the Bug of the Month for April 2008 posting.

Update: (04/12/2008)Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Thank you SO much for making the Carpet Beetle April’s bug of the month! We have been in this house for 3 springs now and have wondered what on earth those little things are! It’s nearly impossible to find info online for one bug out of millions! I have a question… I looked up info on what they eat, the larvae that is. It said they like wool carpet. Our carpeting is made from recycled milk cartons! We do have a pet rabbit, but the bugs tend to stay in our daughter’s room, which the bunny is only allowed in on occasion. What could they be eating that keeps them coming back each spring? Again, thanks so VERY much! You have really satisfied a curiosity of mine and my husband’s (who, by the way, thought they were some bizarre kind of tick or flea!) Sincerely,
Crystal
Southern California

Hi Crystal,
Your letter is the second thanks we have received since making the Carpet Beetle the Bug of the Month. That is always a tough decision, and we almost chose the Striped Morning Sphinx. We have also gotten numerous requests for that identification. Your letter did not indicate if you are finding the adult Carpet Beetles or the larvae in your daughter’s room. If the adults, they could fly from the larval feeding source. If you have rabbits, they will probably shed and the larval Carpet Beetles will eat the shed fur. They will also feed on other pet hair and human hair that gathers in corners and under beds.

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spider beetles, Niptus hololeucus, in the UK
Hi there bug lovers,
In the last 3 or 4 months I have been seeing these beetles in our city flat off and on (I’ve probably seen more than a dozen by now). I have been trying to key them ever since I saw the second one but never got any further than ‘bed bug’, which I know they are not, or assassin bug (which quite frankly is an even worse match). I have collected 5 of them (2mm -5mm, in all kinds of brown shades) in a jar where they ‘didn’t get to eat anything’ for about a month (appart from a dead spider which they seemed to have taken appart) until yesterday when I gave them a bit of old boilt rice (which they also seemed to like). We eat a lot of grain and health foods which means we have a lot of them around but they are being used and replenished regularly and I never noticed any batch to be parasitized. Although I’m sure that we must have a source somewhere I’ve never successfully located one. I have also recently noticed very few and small moth type holes in one of my boyfriend’s t-shirts and don’t know whether that could have been the bugs. The biggest bug (see pic of bug a grain of boilt rice) even has some really nice ornamentation on its back. Without magnification one can’t even see a suture on their backs but I did catch one flying once. Now, roaming through your site I finally found which species they should most likely be!!! I am sure they are some type of spider beetle, most likely Niptus hololeucus. However, no matter which site I find there seem to have been no sightings of this (American) species in the UK so far! If you could help me solve this riddle once and for all I’d be forever grateful! I have also attached pictures of two of my captured bugs. Thank you tons,
Julja
PS.: Since the last time I tried to contact you I have also found that they come crawling out of my downstairs neighbour’s drain sometimes and I have in fact seen one crawling out of one of our drains… ( abit weird for a bug that’s meant to feed on grains, no?)

Hi Julja,
We agree that this is a Spider Beetle, and also that the species looks correct. We googled some key words and found a great website on Spider Beetles with species listed and distributions. The Golden Spider Beetle, Niptus hololeucus, is listed as Cosmopolitan except for some areas of the tropics.

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You have a great site. Thank you for providing a picture of an Anthrenus Carpet Beetle. I will now be able to put a name to pictures that I posted on chaindropz blogspot.
Thanks again
chaindropz

Hi Chaindropz,
Thanks for sending your photo. We have been getting numerous reports about Carpet Beetles lately.

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