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Species Attagenus pellio - Fur Beetle

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

Superfamily Bostrichoidea

Family Dermestidae (Carpet Beetles)

Subfamily Attageninae

Tribe Attagenini

Genus Attagenus (Black Carpet Beetles)

Species pellio (Fur Beetle)

Other Common Names

Two-spotted Carpet Beetle

Explanation of Names

Attagenus pellio (Linnaeus 1758)

Size

3.6–6 mm(1)

Range

native to Europe, now cosmopolitan(2), adventive in our area (ne. US & adjacent Canada, BC)(3)(4)

Habitat

common inhabitant of bird nests; adults frequent flowers; may co-occur with A. unicolor outdoors and indoors (homes, warehouses, museums)(1)(4)

Food

Larvae feed on animal material (wool, feathers, hair/fur), cereal and vegetable products; adults feed on pollen and nectar(1)

Life Cycle

6 months to 3 years(1)

Remarks

household infestations may originate from outdoor sources, esp. pigeon nests(1)

earliest record in our area: NS 1827(4)

Works Cited

1.	Handbook of urban insects and arachnids: A handbook of urban entomology Robinson W.H. 2005. Cambridge University Press.

2.	Alien terrestrial arthropods of Europe Roques A., Kenis M., Lees D., Lopez-Vaamonde C., Rabitsch W., Rasplus J.-Y., Roy D., eds. 2010. BioRisk 4 Special Issue; 2 vols., 1028 pp.

3.	Checklist of beetles (Coleoptera) of Canada and Alaska. Second edition Bousquet Y., Bouchard P., Davies A.E., Sikes D.S. 2013. ZooKeys 360: 1–402.

4.	The Derodontidae, Dermestidae, Bostrichidae, and Anobiidae of the Maritime Provinces of Canada (Coleoptera: Bostrichiformia) C.J. Majka. 2007. Zootaxa 1573: 1–38.

Contributed by v belov on 5 March, 2014 - 11:27am

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