“What is this?” asks Ayoade in his submission regarding the bristly, striped, bug-like creature pictured below. He does not provide any further context – something that we always advise our readers do. Fortunately, in this case, we have seen this creature so many times that we do not need more context to identify it. This is a carpet beetle larva. We can tell that it is a carpet beetle larva based on its brown coloration, stripes, long bristles, six prolegs, and the ovate shape of its body. Now, although we were able to identify the organism without it, context would have still come in handy when it comes to knowing how many of these Ayoade found, and where he found them. Regardless, we will simply give a basic overview of carpet beetle larvae.

Carpet beetle larvae are pests, and they will purposefully invade homes in order to feed on the textile items in there. So, where there is one, there are likely more. We suggest Ayoade scour his home for more of these, so that he can combat the potential infestation before it gets out of hand, because trust us, they can get out of hand, especially since carpet beetle larvae are quite hard to spot when they are feeding. They like to hide in dark, tight spaces where they can feed in peace, so it is in these types of places Ayoade might want to search.

He will want to check locations where there is a good source of food, which for carpet beetle larvae includes: carpets, clothing, upholstered furniture, beds (both human- and pet-occupied), and towels. They will specifically target textile items which are made from organic materials, such as wool, cotton, silk, feathers, and leather. They will also munch on loose hair or fur, so any place that has these might be crawling with carpet beetle larvae. If Ayoade finds more larvae, we suggest he launders any infested clothing, and that he vacuums any infested areas. This will help eliminate any eggs or larvae he finds. Normally, we do not advocate such methods, but depositing the larvae outside will only prolong the infestation if they come back inside (through an open door or window), and such aggressive infestations must be met with aggressive methods.

In conclusion, the bristly bug Ayoade found is a carpet beetle larva. We hope for his sake that he is not experiencing an infestation, though we cannot promise anything. It is better to be safe than sorry and check the home for more roaming larvae. We wish Ayoade the very best!

Summary

Article Name

Hairy, Striped Bug is a Carpet Beetle Larva

Description

"What is this?" asks Ayoade in his submission regarding the bristly, striped, bug-like creature pictured below. He does not provide any further context - something that we always advise our readers do. Fortunately, in this case, we have seen this creature so many times that we do not need more context to identify it. This is a carpet beetle larva. We can tell that it is a carpet beetle larva based on its brown coloration, stripes, long bristles, six prolegs, and the ovate shape of its body. Now, although we were able to identify the organism without it, context would have still come in handy when it comes to knowing how many of these Ayoade found, and where he found them. Regardless, we will simply give a basic overview of carpet beetle larvae.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton