540 Lhe New Carpet Beetle—Anthrenus Scrophulane. | August, 
fernales deposit their eggs for another brood of the carpet-eating 
larvee. 
The beetle is quite small, smaller than would ordinarily be 
expected from the size of the larva, being only about one-eighth 
of an inch long by one-twelfth broad. An average of five exam- 
ples before me gives, length .125 inch, breadth .085 inch. Its form 
is almost a perfect ellipse as seen from above; its back and under 
surface are quite rounded. When turned upon its back, it often 
for a few moments counterfeits death, with its legs so closely 
folded to the surface as scarcely to be seen, and in this state the 
ordinary observer might be at a loss to know the lower from the 
upper side. 
It is a beautifully marked little insect in its contrasting colors 
of white, black and scarlet, arranged as follows: The edge of 
each wing-cover, where they meet on the back, is bordered with 
red (forming a central red line), with three red projections from 
it outwardly, one on the middle of the back, and one other toward 
each end. Take a straight line and divide in four equal parts 
by three cross lines, and we have nearly the position of these pro- 
jections. At the extreme tip of the wing-covers is a widening of 
the bordering line, making almost a fourth projection from it. 
The first projection, near the head, is connected with a white 
spot, running upwardly on the middle of the front border of the 
wing-cover. On the outer border of the wing-covers are three 
white spots nearly opposite the red projections.. The interme- 
diate spaces are black. The segments of the body beneath are 
covered with pale red scales, and the thoracic region (which bears 
the legs) with whitish scales. The above description, although 
not presented as a scientific one, will suffice for the identification 
of the beetle when met with. The detection of this insect adds 
to our fauna another species of the dreaded genus Anthrenus, 
which there is reason to fear will equal in its destructive agency 
the well-known museum pest, the A. varius (formerly known as 
A. museorum), the obtrusive guest of all our collections of nat- 
ural history, whose ravages it seems impossible fully to guard 
ioe against, and so exceedingly difficult to control. 
It does not confine itself wholly to carpets, but it also infests 
< ‘andi injures various articles of wearing apparel, hanging in closets 
or lain away in drawers. An instance has also been stated, but 
vaits confirmation, of its preying upon cotton fabrics—a habit 
ged to either the clothes or ese moths. 
Pa 
