Occasionally, severe infestations occur in food products, stuffed animals, woolen fabrics, feathers and other items of animal origin. These require thorough treatment. They do not feed on carpet made from synthetic fibers. The black carpet beetle is uniformly dark brown-black and shiny. Carpet beetle larvae are elongate, reddish or light brown, and covered with short hairs.
Some species have distinct tufts of hairs extending from the posterior.
Larvae repeatedly shed their skins and these old larval skins are often confused with the living Insects. They bear a superficial resemblance to duff millipedes, discussed in fact sheet 5.552, Millipedes, Centipedes and Sowbugs . History Most carpet beetles occur as wild populations in Colorado. The larvae feed on various materials of animal origin and commonly occur in bird nests. Adult beetles feed on the pollen of plants, with Spirea reported to be one plant that is particularly favored.