| Larder Beetles |
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A fairly large (7-10mm) oval beetle, almost black but with a distinct pale band across the front of the wing-cases. The larvae are white after first hatching, but turn brown and are covered with tufts of bristly hair. They grow to 10-12mm long and occasionally tunnel into soft wood to pupate. The life cycle takes about three months.
Both beetle and larvae are scavengers, feeding on scraps of food - especially ham, bacon or cheese, or on dead mice or birds. They often enter houses from old birds’ nests. One of a family called the Dermestid beetles, meaning “skin eaters”. Related species include the dark-brown Leather Beetle and the very similar Dermestes haemorrhoidalis, which perhaps not surprisingly has no English name. REMEDY: Check lofts, eaves and odd neglec
            
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 September 2011 19:24 |
