BLACK CARPET BEETLE (Attagenus megatoma)

Biology

• Length: 1/8 to ¼ inch
• Adults are dark brown to black in color, oval in shape and twice as long as wide.
• Antennae are short with a 3 segmented club.
• Terminal segment of the male’s antennae is twice as long as the female’s.
• Larva has an elongated body; last abdominal segment has long tuft of hairs.
• Larva is light brown to dark brown in color and may be ½ inch long.

Distribution/Habits

• Black carpet beetle is most widespread and destructive carpet beetle in the United States.
• They are numerous during the spring and early summer months.
• Larval stage is destructive to fabrics and plant materials.
• Damage often results in a number of small, unevenly spaced holes.
• Larvae roam widely, normally searching for food in dark areas of a room, shunning sunlight.
• Larvae move slowly; when disturbed they curl up and “play dead.”
• Newly emerged adults are attracted to light.
• Adult Black Carpet Beetles feed on pollen.
• After mating, many of the females return indoors to lay eggs.
• Approximately 50 eggs are laid in accumulations of lint, or in a place where larval food supply is present.