NOXIOUS INSECTS OF THE HOUSEHOLD. 109 



BUFFALO BEETLE. 

 (Anthrenus scrophularice Linn.; Order, Coleoptera.) 



Diagnosis. Small, dark-colored, hairy creatures, infesting car- 

 pets ; hiding in cracks and crevices about the house ; known to 

 housekeepers as "fish moths," "buffalo moths," etc. 



Description and Life- history. The adult insect is a small beetle, 

 not a moth, about a quarter of an inch long, black with white 

 spots, and with an irregular red stripe along the back. The beetles 

 begin to appear in the fall, and continue to appear through the 

 winter and spring. The beetles may often be seen in the win- 

 dows. They fly out-of-doors, and are found on flowers of the 

 orders Composite and Scrophulariacese. 



The eggs are laid soon after the appearance of the beetles, proba- 

 bly upon the carpets. The eggs are soon hatched, and the destruct- 

 ive larvae begin to feed upon the carpets, stored woolen goods, 



FIG. 60. BUFFALO BEETLE; a, adult beetle (natural length about one-fourth inch); 6, 



pupa; c, larva. 



or furs. They moult several times (the cast skins may often be 

 found), and when full-grown the larva seeks a sheltered place 

 and transforms into the quiescent pupa, which later becomes the 

 perfect beetle. 



It is in the larval state, of course, that the damage to the car- 

 pets is done. The full-grown larva is about one-third of an inch 

 in length. It "is brown in color, and clothed with stiff, brown 

 hairs, which are longer around the sides than on the back, and 

 still longer at the extremities. Both at sides and extremities they 

 form tufts, the hinder end being furnished with three tufts of long 

 hair, and the head with a dense bunch of shorter hair." 



