BLACK CARPET BEETLE (Attagenus megatoma)
Biology
- Length: 1/8 to ¼ inch
- Adults are dark brown to black in color, oval in shape and twice as long as wide.
- Antennae are short with a 3 segmented club.
- Terminal segment of the male’s antennae is twice as long as the female’s.
- Larva has an elongated body; last abdominal segment has long tuft of hairs.
- Larva is light brown to dark brown in color and may be ½ inch long.
Distribution/Habits
- Black carpet beetle is most widespread and destructive carpet beetle in the United States.
- They are numerous during the spring and early summer months.
- Larval stage is destructive to fabrics and plant materials.
- Damage often results in a number of small, unevenly spaced holes.
- Larvae roam widely, normally searching for food in dark areas of a room, shunning sunlight.
- Larvae move slowly; when disturbed they curl up and “play dead.”
- Newly emerged adults are attracted to light.
- Adult Black Carpet Beetles feed on pollen.
- After mating, many of the females return indoors to lay eggs.
- Approximately 50 eggs are laid in accumulations of lint, or in a place where larval food supply is present.
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