Australian Carpet Beetle
Scientific name: Anthrenocerus australis
Family: Dermestidae
Distribution
Australia, New Zealand, and Europe
Pest Type
Secondary pest, scavenger
Identification
Adults are 2.3–2.5 mm long. They are dark brown in colour and oval in shape. The thorax has patches of light-coloured hairs, and the elytra have three bands of wavy light-coloured hairs. The larvae are eruciform (caterpillar-like) in shape, hairy, and have tufts of hairs at the rear that converge over the tip of the abdomen.
Life Cycle
At optimum conditions of 30–35℃, the life cycle will be completed in 100 days. Females lay eggs on the commodity. Larvae are mobile and they cast skins throughout infested material. The adults don’t feed on commodities and have a short life span.
Commodities attacked
Dried organic material, especially of animal origins like hides, biological specimens, wool, and skin.
Economic Importance
Medium in museums and in households, and is not that important in other cases.
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