Varied Carpet Beetle

Indoors within homes, carpets, upholstered furniture, closets, and museum collections; outdoors in bird nests or on flowering plants.

Adults feed on flower pollen and nectar. Larvae feed on natural animal fibers like wool, silk, feathers, fur, dead insects, and dried animal products.

Adults are attracted to light and often fly indoors; larvae avoid light and hide in dark crevices where they feed and undergo metamorphosis.

Larvae can cause significant damage to household textiles, carpets, and clothing. Shed larval hairs may cause allergic skin reactions or respiratory irritation in humans.