can you help me identify these bugs?
Hello,
I found these bugs in one of our storage units. Can you tell me what they are? I attached a photo. thank you!
Dennis

Hi Dennis,
You have an Anthrenus Carpet Beetle infestation. Adult Carpet Beetles feed on pollen, and are usually noticed by homemakers when the congregate on windowsills in an attempt to reach the outside world. The larval form is the phase that does the damage. These fuzzy larvae feed on wool, feathers, fur and other animal products. They can do major damage in museum collections. Adult Carpet Beetles reach a length of about 4 mm. Your beetles look like Anthrenus verbasci, the Varied Carpet Beetle.

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.

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.

What is this little bug? (please help)
Bugman please help!
I live in Philadelphia and I keep finding these bugs in my apartment. I thought they were biting me but I am not sure. I have never seen anything like these things before in my life. Enclosed are two photographs of these bugs. I found them near my bed, which makes me terrified to sleep in it. They are round and shiny like tiny beads and are amber-reddish in color. They have those little legs and they are almost always dead when I find them. Also, when they are held up to the light they are translucent.
Scared in PA!
S.A.

Dear S.A.,
Fear not. These are Mezium Spider Beetles, grain infesting Pantry Beetles. They will infest your stored food, but will not bite you.

Expert Update: (05/22/2008) spider beetle errors
Dear Bugman,
I believe I had written earlier when looking at many of the spider beetle pictures. Almost all of the shiny brown, globular body, images are of Gibbium aequinoctiale and not Mezium species. There is a combined 2 image photo (finger and beetle & 2 beetles) of Mezium : the answer was posted by Eric Eaton, I believe. Gibbium species do not have a velvety covering on the thorax, Mezium species do. You should correct your website postings so people will have a better idea of what they have been finding. Best regards,
Lou
Louis N. Sorkin, B.C.E.
Entomology Section
Division of Invertebrate Zoology
American Museum of Natural History
New York

Dear Lou,
Thanks so much for resending this vital correction to our website. We really appreciate your expertise on this. We sincerely hope that addressing you with such familiarity doesn’t detract from your professional status.

what is this horrible looking thing???
Hello, great site you have here. Been browsing it for a bit but still cant find this little chap on there! Found him under my carpet, with the cat sniffing near it. Don’t know if it came in off the cat, or if there is something in the house… It was found near my fireplace, which is not used and has a gas fire in front of it. The chimney is boarded up, but not sealed. Thanks for your help! I’m in the UK, by the way.
Ian

Hello again,
As well as asking you, I also asked the Natural History Museum insect dept. for some help, and they have sent a reply. Just though I would let you know, so you don’t waste any more time on this enquiry! It is a the larvae from a mealworm beetle apparently, and can be found in roofs/attics/chimneys where birds nest. hence why I found it in near my fireplace! Thanks anyway, and keep up the good work on a fantastic site! best regards,
Ian

Hi Ian,
Thank you for your photo as well as the results of your inquiries. During normal business hours, we at What’s That Bug? are in the real world trying to make a living and normally answer questions early in the morning or late at night. We were unaware that the Giant Mealworm Larva, a Darkling Beetle in the genus Zophobas, were found in association with bird nests. It is very interesting.

Correction (03/28/2008)
I just wanted to point out that as Ian was told by the Natural History Museum, this is a Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) which is not the same as a Superworm (Zophobas morio). Superworms are often confused with Giant Mealworms (the latter being a hormonally enhanced mealworm which grows larger for use as a feeder). While mealworms and superworms are both types of darkling beetles, they do have different appearances.

Okay, I’m a little more calm now…
Dear WTB:
Long time reader, second time e-mailer… firstly, thank you so much for your wonderful website! It is an excellent educational tool and an essential public service! Thanks to you, my daughter is growing up to appreciate and love bugs (with the exception of wasps and hornets — she was bit twice last year) and, thus far, is not acquiring my neurotic hang-ups.
Please find attached pictures of a bug that I found this morning. He was kicking on his back in my darkened kitchen. I am not responsible for the damage to his one antennae and to a couple of his legs. This maiming was doubtless the work of my tiny perfect carnivore (domestic tabby cat). While on his back, I feared that he was an oriental cochroach. Having covered him with a translucent plastic container, I was able to slip a sheet of construction paper under him and tape the container down onto the paper, thus securing him for further observation and study. I spent a couple of hours on your website researching him and was quite convinced that he was an oriental cochroach until we managed to flip him over. Now, I’m pretty sure that he is a harmless species of ground beetle. He is 1.5 cm. long and .5 cm wide (5/8 " long, 3/8 " wide). He appears reddish-brown on his underside and black on his back. I can’t tell you how much I would appreciate it if you would view the pictures and confirm whether he is a beetle or a roach.
Sincerely,
Neurotic, fussy, home-maker (knowing it is half the battle)
near Toronto, Canada

Dear Neurotic, fussy home-maker,
Based on your self-evaluation, we are pretty certain we know what you will be doing the minute you get this response. We are relatively certain this is a Mealworm, Tenebrio molitor. We located a website with the following information: “Tenebrio beetles are black or dark brown and they feed as larvae and adults on grain products. T. molitor is an important post-harvest pest and occurs spread all over the world. Adult beetles are attracted to night-lights, are strong fliers, and are found in dark places. Each female lays about 275-600 eggs, which hatch into larvae in 4 to 14 days. Eggs are laid singly or in clusters during the spring over a period of 22 to 137 days. Larvae firstly eat the germs of stored grains and can feed on a wide variety of plant products such as ground grains, flour, tobacco and foodstuffs. Larvae are very voracious and highly resistant to low temperature; they can remain alive for 80 days at -5