Beetles Identification Guide

castaneae is exclusively North American and more common than A. museorum.
The species has not been found associated with stored products (R.S. Beal, Jr.,
personal communication).
Sexual dimorphism: Males have the last antennal segment at least five times as
long as the preceding one; females have that segment only two to three times as
long as the preceding one (Fig. 249).
Distribution: Most of the Holarctic region and reported also from Australia,
New Zealand, and Java in Indonesia (Hinton 1945). In Canada the species has
been recorded from Newfoundland west to Ontario, but I have seen only specimens
of A. museorum from St. John’s, Nfld., and from the Ottawa region.
Economic importance: This species is mainly a household pest; the larvae
feed on wool, fur, skins, and other materials of animal origin. It also damages
dried insect collections and other museum specimens. There are few
records of this species in Canada, and it is probably only a minor pest. Like
the other species of the genus, the adults feed on nectar and pollen, mate in
the field, and fly indoors to oviposit.
Anthrenus scrophulariae (Linnaeus)
carpet beetle
anthrène des tapis
Diagnosis: The species differs from the other Anthrenus included here in having
the medial margin of the eye notched.
Sexual dimorphism: Sexes are externally similar.
Distribution: Palaearctic region and introduced in North America and the Australian
region. In Canada A. scrophulariae is found from coast to coast.
Economic importance: As the preceding species, A. scrophulariae is mainly a
household pest and is also known to attack dried insect collections. The damage
is done by the larvae. The adults feed on nectar and pollen.
Anthrenus verbasci (Linnaeus)
varied carpet beetle
anthrène bigarré des tapis
Diagnosis: The species is distinct from the other Anthrenus included here in having
the antenna 11-segmented with the medial margin of the eye entire. It also differs
from A. scrophulariae, the only other Anthrenus with an 11-segmented antenna included
in this guide, in having the scales on the body more than twice as long as wide.
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