''Dermestes lardarius'', commonly known as the ''larder beetle'' or ''moisture bug'', is a species 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 ...

in the family Dermestidae, the skin beetles. It is found worldwide.''Dermestes lardarius''.
Canadian Grain Commission. It is a common pest of households and storage facilities ("

larders A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Originally, it was where raw meat was larded—covered in fat—to be preserved. By the 18th century, the term had expanded. Now a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked ...

") in much of the world. It eats animal products, such as dried meats and fish, pet food, skins and hides, feathers, cheese, and museum specimens such as dried insects. It may also eat plant material that is high in protein, such as grain. The larva is longer than the adult and is covered in reddish brown or black setae.Larder Beetle
. University of Rhode Island Green Share Factsheets. It has two back-curved, spine-like appendages on the posterior end. The larva of the black larder beetle has less strongly curved appendages. Mature larvae of both species tend to bore into hard substrates such as wood, cork, and plaster to

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

te.Lyon, W. F
Hide and Larder Beetles
Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet. Adult larder beetles are generally 1/3 to 3/8 of an inch long and are dark brown with a broad, pale yellow spotted band across the upper portion of the elytra. The band contains three black dots arranged in a triangle shape. The sternum and legs of the larder beetle are covered in fine, yellow setae. Adult larder beetles are typically found outdoors in protected areas during the winter, but during the spring and early summer they enter buildings. Females lay approximately 135 eggs near a food source, and the eggs will hatch in about 12 days. The life cycle of larder beetles lasts around 40 to 50 days.

References

External links

''Dermestes lardarius'' at Fauna Europaea
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1084680 lardarius Beetles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus