![Sceliphron and pest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Sceliphron_and_pest.jpg)
''Anthrenus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s in the family
Dermestidae
Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,100 species described.
Dermestids have ...
, the skin beetles. One of several genera of carpet beetles, ''Anthrenus'' was historically placed in a
subfamily Anthreninae, though presently included in the
Megatominae. The genus ''
Neoanthrenus'' is closely related.
''Anthrenus'' carpet beetles are small beetles a few millimetres long with a rather rounded shape. Their
antennae bear small clubs at the end, which are plumper in males than in females. Many have a delicate and rather pretty pattern, with a dark body covered in colorful scales of various brown, tan, red, whitish and grey hues. These scales rub off easily, and old individuals are often partially devoid of them, showing the shining black
elytra
An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...
. A considerable number of
subspecies and
varieties
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
have been named, but it is questionable whether these are all valid or simply refer to such age-related differences. The massive number of
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
has been divided into several
subgenera, but these are not too firmly established. The small subgenus ''Helocerus'' for example is sometimes entirely included in ''Florilinus''. Also, new species are being described every now and then.
These beetles range essentially all over the world; they have even colonized some remote oceanic islands. Most species are harmless
pollen-eaters, with the long-haired
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
...
e feeding on a wide range on dead animal or plant matter. This makes them important
decomposer
Decomposers are organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms; they carry out decomposition, a process possible by only certain kingdoms, such as fungi. Like herbivores and predators, decomposers are heterotrophic, meaning that they use o ...
s, which clean up decaying organisms. Some, however, most notoriously the
museum beetle (''A. museorum''), are significant
pests
PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...
, infesting stored goods and especially
biological specimen
A biological specimen (also called a biospecimen) is a biological laboratory specimen held by a biorepository for research. Such a specimen would be taken by sampling so as to be representative of any other specimen taken from the source of t ...
s in
museum collections
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, repla ...
. These species have caused considerable damage to
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
by destroying valuable
type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...
s. Their larvae may cause considerable damage on wool, fur, feathers, and natural history collections.
Selected species
![Anthrenus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Anthrenus.pimpinellae.7064.jpg)
Subgenus ''Anthrenus''
* ''
Anthrenus angustefasciatus''
* ''
Anthrenus armstrongi''
* ''
Anthrenus bartolozzii''
* ''
Anthrenus botswaniensis''
* ''
Anthrenus chiton''
Beal, 1998
* ''
Anthrenus delicatus''
Kiesenwetter, 1851
* ''
Anthrenus ethiopicus''
* ''
Anthrenus festivus''
Erichson, 1846
* ''
Anthrenus flavidulus''
* ''
Anthrenus flavipes
''Anthrenus flavipes'' is a species of beetle in the family Dermestidae known by the common name furniture carpet beetle. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring throughout the world, being most active in warmer climates.Gahlhoff, J. EFurn ...
''
J.L.LeConte, 1854 – furniture carpet beetle
** ''Anthrenus flavipes albopunctatus''
* ''
Anthrenus goliath''
Mulsant & Rey, 1868
* ''
Anthrenus indicus''
* ''
Anthrenus isabellinus''
Küster, 1848
* ''
Anthrenus kantneri''
* ''
Anthrenus katerinae''
* ''
Anthrenus kenyaensis''
* ''
Anthrenus latefasciatus''
* ''
Anthrenus lepidus''
LeConte, 1854
* ''
Anthrenus merkli''
* ''
Anthrenus mesopotamicus''
* ''
Anthrenus miniopictus''
* ''
Anthrenus munroi''
Hinton, 1943
* ''
Anthrenus namibicus''
* ''
Anthrenus nipponensis''
* ''
Anthrenus oceanicus''
Fauvel, 1903
* ''
Anthrenus parvus''
Casey, 1900
* ''
Anthrenus pfefferi''
* ''
Anthrenus picturatus''
** ''Anthrenus picturatus arabicus''
** ''Anthrenus picturatus hintoni''
** ''Anthrenus picturatus makolskii''
** ''Anthrenus picturatus melanoleucus''
* ''
Anthrenus pimpinellae
''Anthrenus pimpinellae'' is a species of beetle found natively in Europe, northern Africa, Asia and portions of the Oriental region; it has also been introduced to parts of North America.
Description
Size of about 3–4 mm. Elytra bla ...
''
Fabricius, 1775
** ''Anthrenus pimpinellae mroczkowskii''
Kalík, 1954
* ''
Anthrenus rotundulus''
* ''
Anthrenus scrophulariae
''Anthrenus (Anthrenus) scrophulariae'', also known as the common carpet beetle or buffalo carpet beetle, is a species of beetle originally found in Europe, the Middle East and the Nearctic, which has now spread to most of the world. Adult beetle ...
''
(Linnaeus, 1758) – common carpet beetle
** ''Anthrenus scrophulariae'' var. ''albidus''
** ''Anthrenus scrophulariae'' var. ''gravidus''
** ''Anthrenus scrophulariae'' var. ''suecicus''
Palm, 1940
* ''
Anthrenus senegalensis''
* ''
Anthrenus simonis''
* ''
Anthrenus sophonisba''
Beal, 1998
* ''
Anthrenus tarnawskii''
* ''
Anthrenus thoracicus''
Melsheimer, 1846
* ''
Anthrenus x-signum''
Subgenus ''Florilinus''
* ''
Anthrenus castaneae''
Melsheimer, 1846
* ''
Anthrenus caucasicus''
* ''
Anthrenus coreanus''
* ''
Anthrenus flavidus''
* ''
Anthrenus hartmanni''
* ''
Anthrenus mugodsharicus''
* ''
Anthrenus museorum
''Anthrenus museorum'', commonly known as the museum beetle, is a species of beetle found in the Palearctic (including Europe), the Near East and the Nearctic. In its larval form it damages all forms of dry skin and hair. The larva will also e ...
''
(Linnaeus, 1761) – museum beetle
* ''
Anthrenus oberthueri''
Reitter, 1881
* ''
Anthrenus olgae
''Anthrenus'' is a genus of beetles in the family Dermestidae, the skin beetles. One of several genera of carpet beetles, ''Anthrenus'' was historically placed in a subfamily Anthreninae, though presently included in the Megatominae. The genu ...
''
Kalík, 1946
* ''
Anthrenus pallidus''
* ''
Anthrenus solskianus''
* ''
Anthrenus sordidulus''
* ''
Anthrenus sveci''
* ''
Anthrenus tanakai''
* ''
Anthrenus zhantievi''
Subgenus ''Helocerus''
* ''
Anthrenus fuscus
''Anthrenus fuscus'' is a species of carpet beetle in the family Dermestidae
Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetle ...
''
A.G.Olivier, 1789
* ''
Anthrenus minutus''
Erichson, 1846
* ''
Anthrenus polonicus''
Mroczkowski, 1951
![Anthrenus museorum bl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Anthrenus_museorum_bl.JPG)
Subgenus ''Nathrenus''
Subgenus undetermined
* ''
Anthrenus amoenulus'' - ''Anthrenodes'' or ''Florilinus''?
* ''
Anthrenus biscrensis'' - ''Florilinus''?
* ''
Anthrenus blanci''
Beal, 1998
* ''
Anthrenus coloratus''
Reitter, 1881 - ''Anthrenops'' or ''Florilinus''?
* ''
Anthrenus fucosus''
Beal, 1998
* ''
Anthrenus funebris'' - ''Florilinus''?
* ''
Anthrenus minor'' - ''Anthrenodes'' or ''Florilinus''?
** ''Anthrenus minor'' ab. ''unicolor''
* ''
Anthrenus molitor''
Aubé, 1850 - ''Florilinus'' or ''Nathrenus''?
* ''
Anthrenus occidens''
Casey, 1900
* ''
Anthrenus omoi''
Beal, 1998
* ''
Anthrenus sarnicus
''Anthrenus sarnicus'', the Guernsey carpet beetle, is a type of carpet beetle ('Sarnia' is the Latin name for Guernsey). It can be generally found in Great Britain. Its suborder is Polyphaga, the infraorder is Bostrichiformia, the superfamil ...
'' – Guernsey carpet beetle - ''Anthrenodes'' or ''Florilinus''?
* ''
Anthrenus signatus'' - ''Florilinus'' or ''Nathrenus''?
* ''
Anthrenus tuvensis'' - ''Florilinus''?
* ''
Anthrenus umbra''
Beal, 1998
* ''
Anthrenus ussuricus'' - ''Florilinus''?
* ''
Anthrenus verbasci'' – varied carpet beetle - ''Florilinus'' or ''Nathrenus''?
** ''Anthrenus verbasci'' var. ''nebulosus''
* ''
Anthrenus versicolor''
Reitter, 1887 - ''Florilinus'' or ''Nathrenus''?
References
External links
''Anthrenus flavipes'', furniture carpet beetle
{{Authority control
Dermestidae genera