Anthrenus flavipes
| Anthrenus flavipes | |
|---|---|
 |
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| larvae and adult | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Dermestidae |
| Genus: | Anthrenus |
| Species: | A. flavipes |
| Binomial name | |
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Anthrenus flavipes (LeConte, 1854) |
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Anthrenus flavipes is a species of beetle in the family Dermestidae known by the common name furniture carpet beetle. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring throughout the world, being most active in warmer climates. It is a pest that damages household materials such as textiles.
This beetle is 2 to 3.5 millimeters long and round in shape. It is black with variable patterns of white and yellow mottling. The legs are covered in yellow scales. It looks similar to other carpet beetles, but its tiny body scales are rounded or oval, while those of other carpet beetles are longer and narrower. Each antenna is tipped with a club.
During its adult lifespan of 30 to 60 days, the female beetle lays up to 100 white eggs. The eggs are visible but less than one millimeter long. The larvae emerge in one to three weeks. The larva is oval or "carrot-shaped" and about 5 millimeters long at its final stage. It varies in color according to diet and it is coated in long, brown hairs. The larva of this species can be distinguished from that of its relative, the common carpet beetle (Anthrenus scrophulariae), by the presence of a bundle of hairs on the posterior end which is constantly vibrating. This bundle, located just above the anus, is called the supra-anal organ. All instar stages of the larva have the organ, and there is a specific number of hairs in it at each instar. The vibration of the organ is an antipredator adaptation that helps to repel predators such as pseudoscorpions (Chelifer sp.) and the parasitoid wasp Laelius pedatus.
After progressing through six to thirty instars over 2 to 3 months, the larva pupates for 2 or 3 weeks.
Sexual behavior includes a "characteristic headstand posture" assumed by the female beetle when she releases her sex pheromone, which has been identified as (Z)-3-decenoic acid.
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Wikipedia