Varied Carpet Beetles in Bolton, Bury and Radcliffe.
The Varied Carpet Beetle Beetles in My House - The Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci) is a fairly new pest to the north of the U.K. having been largely confined to the south but now pest operatives in Cheshire, Lancashire and Manchester are increasingly being called out to deal with this insect pest.
A.Verbasci is a very distinctive, easily identified beetle that can be a serious problem in the household. Its larvae feeds on natural fibres and can devour anything of natural origin, such as woolen carpets, furniture and natural fibre clothing.
The larval form is called a woolly bear, a nickname it shares with the young of Pyrrharctia isabella or the Isabella Tiger moth.
The Varied Carpet Beetle was the very first insect to be demonstrated to have a circadian and an annual cycle and to date remains the classic example of circannual cycles in insect species.
The larval form of A. verbasci are about 4-5 mm in length. The body has a pattern of alternating light and brown stripes. The body of the larvae is usually more wide at the rear than at the front end and has 3 pairs of hair tufts along its rear abdomen that can be used for defending itself
Adult A. verbasci range from 1.7 to 3.5 mm in length. Their elytra or wing case has scales of two colours, whitish and yellow brown. White scales are condensed along the lateral margins of the pronotum. In addition, their antennae are 11-segmented with a three segmented club.
A Verbasci or The Varied Carpet Beetle has a very strange life cycle for an insect, the development from larvae to adult can take anything from 1-3 years, depending on the environment in which it finds itself.
Larvae hatch from eggs in the spring, often they are associated with birds nests or around stored natural fabrics Larvae feed on natural fibres throughout their development, eventually experiencing a dormancy or diapause before completing pupation and emerging as an adult. Varied Carpet Beetle adults emerge between March and early August, and feed on pollen.
These insects cause both physical damage by their larvae devouring natural fibres and psychological upset from the vast numbers of these pests which can emerge into houses.
When dealing with these pests it is important to look for the presence of birds nesting material and remove any nests and feathers etc. from the infested before treating with an insecticide.
It is vital to be aware that in Britain legislation affects the removal of birds nests, including house sparrows and starlings which are two of the common birds which have an association with A.verbasci so professional advice should be sought to avoid falling foul of the law.
