Varied Carpet Beetle ♂♀

Description:

It 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 biological specimens. While adults, emerging between late May and early August, are pollen grazers, larvae feed on natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing and insect 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. he life expectancy of the adult beetle is about 2 weeks. During this period, mating occurs and the eggs are laid, either close to the human environs or in bird nests, tree hollows and similar, dry places where larvae can find their food.

Habitat:

This species is present in most of Europe, in East Palearctic ecozone, in the Near East, in the Nearctic ecozone and in North Africa.

Notes:

It 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.