The varied carpet beetle (Anthrenus verbasci) is a 3 mm–long beetle belonging to the family Dermestidae
This beetle can be a serious household pest and a pest in natural history museums, where it can damage many biological specimens. While adults are pollen grazers, larvae feed on natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing and insects collections.
The larval form is known as a woolly bear, a name it shares with the larvae of Arctia caja and many other moths of the family Arctiidae.
A. verbasci was the first insect to be shown to have an annual circadian rhythm and to date remains a classic example of circannual cycles in animals.
Read more about Varied Carpet Beetle: Identification, Distribution, Interaction With Humans
Famous quotes containing the words varied, carpet and/or beetle:
“See, Winter comes, to rule the varied year,
Sullen, and sad, with all his rising train;
Vapours, and clouds, and storms. Be these my theme,
These, that exalt the soul to solemn thought,
And heavenly musing. Welcome, kindred glooms!
Congenial horrors, hail!”
—James Thomson (1700–1748)
“Odors from decaying food wafting through the air when the door is opened, colorful mold growing between a wet gym uniform and the damp carpet underneath, and the complete supply of bath towels scattered throughout the bedroom can become wonderful opportunities to help your teenager learn once again that the art of living in a community requires compromise, negotiation, and consensus.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)
“The sense of death is most in apprehension,
And the poor beetle that we tread upon
In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great
As when a giant dies.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)