Carpet Beetle (larva or adult)

Indoors, especially in undisturbed areas: carpets, rugs, furniture, fabrics, closets, pantries, attics. Outdoors, they can be found in nests of birds, rodents, or insects, and on flowering plants.

Scavengers. Adults feed on pollen and nectar. Larvae feed on a wide range of organic materials of animal origin, including wool, silk, fur, feathers, leather, dead insects, pet food, and sometimes processed foods and grains.

Larvae are the damaging stage, causing irregular holes in fibrous materials. They prefer dark, undisturbed areas. Adults are often found near windows as they are attracted to light, or outdoors on flowers. They undergo complete metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa, adult). Larval stage can last anywhere from several months to a year, depending on conditions and species.

Potential risks include damage to personal property (clothing, carpets, upholstered furniture, stored food products) and museum collections. Some people may experience allergic reactions or skin irritations from larval hairs. Benefits include their role as decomposers in nature, cleaning up animal remains and detritus. They are also used in forensic entomology to determine post-mortem intervals.