This post is an example of one of the many reasons why I love studying arthropods... I was stuck indoors with a truly nasty headache and found myself staring out the window longingly. I looked down and saw a tiny dermestid crawling on the windowsill. A closer look revealed what I believe to be an Anthrenus sophonisba specimen. How cool is it to be able to find a fantastic species you've never seen before while just hanging out around your house?! (Answer: Pretty darn cool!)

I was especially excited to be able to take some photos of the underside, as I noticed that BugGuide did not currently have any ventral views. Sadly, in my zealousness to flip this little one over, it appears that I damaged a few of the scales on its back, thus marring the original pattern. [For a view of what it looked like pre-damage, please see the last photo in the series.] Fortunately, that was the only harm it suffered and a short while later, I returned it to the great outdoors. :-) Surrounding habitat is chaparral and mixed oak woodland.

I am fairly confident in my ID, but would still appreciate expert confirmation before moving these images to species page. Thanks!