INSECT PESTS OF THE HOUSEHOLD. 



269 



The Buffalo Carpet Beetle. 



Anthrenus scrophularise. 

 The Buffalo Carpet Beetle is supposed to have been 

 introduced into America from Europe about 1876, 

 since when it has done great damage and spread over 

 a large portion of the eastern and central United 

 States. The adult beetle (Fig. 141, d) is about a 



Fig. 141. Carpet Beetle: a, larva, back view ; 6, larva, view of under 

 side; c, pupa; d, beetle. Magnified. 



quarter of an inch long, black, with white spots, as 

 shown in the figure, and has a red stripe along the 

 middle of the back. Eggs are laid by these beetles, 

 probably upon carpets themselves, and soon hatch 

 into larvae that feed upon the carpets. It is in this 

 larval stage that the damage is done. The larvae 

 cast their skins occasionally as they develop, and the 

 time required for them to become full grown varies 

 according to the temperature and food-supply. When 

 full grown they are peculiar, hairy creatures of the 

 form represented at a and b of the accompanying 



