page_title: Varied carpet beetle
section_title: Life cycle
hierarchical_section_title: Varied carpet beetle / Description / Life cycle
caption_attribution_description: English: This image shows an about 0.18 inch (4.6 mm) large Varied carpet beetle larva (Anthrenus verbasci). Deutsch: Dieses Bild zeigt eine 4,6 Millimeter große Larve des Wollkrautblütenkäfers (Anthrenus verbasci). Camera data Camera Nikon D70 Lens Tamron SP AF 90mm/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 Flash Nikon Speedlight SB-800 Focal length 90 mm Aperture f/32 Exposure time 1/60 s Sensivity ISO 200
context_page_description: The varied carpet beetle is a 3 mm-long beetle belonging to the family Dermestidae. They are a common species, often considered a pest of domestic houses and, particularly, natural history museums, where the larvae may damage natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing, and insect collections. A. verbasci was also the first insect to be shown to have an annual behavioral rhythm and to date remains a classic example of circannual cycles in animals.
context_section_description: A. verbasci has a life cycle ranging from 1–3 years, depending upon the environmental conditions. A study in 1958 found that temperature is able to affect larval development, concluding that the periods of incubation and pupation of A. verbasci decrease with increase of temperature (the life cycle is thus quickened with a modern rise in temperature). Incubation decreased from 54 days at 15 °C to 12 days at 30 °C, and the pupation decreased from 89 days at 10 °C to 9 days at 25 °C. Relative humidity was shown to have little effect.
  Larvae hatch from eggs in the spring and early summer, often in the nests of birds (including those of the house sparrow and house swift) or around stored fabrics.
  Adults emerge between late May and early August, flying to and feeding on the pollen and nectar of flowering plants. The life expectancy of the beetle is about two 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. Then the cycle begins anew.
caption: Larva of A. verbasci. Front view
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