Keratin-feeder
Guides
Anthrenus flavipes
furniture carpet beetle
Anthrenus flavipes is a small dermestid beetle known as the furniture carpet beetle. Adults are 2–3.5 mm long, black with variable white and yellow mottling, and have rounded or oval body scales that distinguish them from related carpet beetles. The species has a cosmopolitan distribution and is a significant pest of household materials, particularly upholstered furniture, carpets, and textiles. Larvae are responsible for damage, feeding on keratin-containing materials including wool, hair, feathers, and silk.
Anthrenus isabellinus
Anthrenus isabellinus is a carpet beetle in the family Dermestidae, native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa. The species has been introduced to the eastern United States. Like other Anthrenus carpet beetles, its larvae feed on dried animal products including keratin-based materials. Historical taxonomic confusion with the related A. pimpinellae has complicated understanding of its true distribution.
Anthrenus lepidus
Anthrenus lepidus is a species of carpet beetle in the family Dermestidae. It is a small beetle found in North America, with adults measuring 2-4 mm in length. Like other members of the genus Anthrenus, it is a household pest whose larvae feed on dried animal products including wool, silk, feathers, and keratin-based materials. The species is part of a group of cosmopolitan pests that have spread worldwide through international commerce.
Anthrenus museorum
museum beetle
Anthrenus museorum is a small dermestid beetle commonly known as the museum beetle. Adults measure 2–4 mm with round bodies and dark elytra bearing bright colored spots. The larval stage is the primary damaging form, feeding on dry animal materials including skin, hair, feathers, and occasionally dry food products like cheese, flour, or cocoa. The species is native to Europe and has become globally distributed through commercial trade, now occurring across the Palearctic, Near East, Nearctic, and other regions including China and Australia. It is a significant pest in museums, where larvae damage taxidermy specimens and insect collections.
Anthrenus pimpinellae
Anthrenus pimpinellae is a small carpet beetle in the family Dermestidae, native to the Palaearctic region but introduced to North America. Adults measure 3–4 mm and have black elytra with white and brown scales. The species exhibits selective flower-feeding behavior, with mating occurring exclusively on preferred floral hosts. Larvae feed on dried animal products including keratin-containing materials.
Anthrenus scrophulariae
common carpet beetle, buffalo carpet beetle
Anthrenus scrophulariae is a small dermestid beetle native to the Palaearctic region that has become cosmopolitan through human commerce. Adults feed on pollen and nectar, particularly from white or whitish flowers, while larvae are destructive pests of animal-derived materials including carpets, woolens, furs, and museum specimens. The species is notable for its distinctive patterned elytra with black, orange, and white scales that wear away with age, and for the medical irritation its larval hairs can cause in sensitive individuals.
Anthrenus verbasci
Varied Carpet Beetle
Anthrenus verbasci is a cosmopolitan pest species in the family Dermestidae, commonly known as the varied carpet beetle. Adults are small (2–4 mm), rounded beetles with distinctive patterned elytra bearing bands or spots of brown, black, and white scales. Larvae are covered in dense setae and feed on dried proteinaceous material, causing damage to household items, museum collections, and stored agricultural products. The species exhibits circannual control of its life cycle, with photoperiod serving as the primary zeitgeber for synchronizing pupation and adult emergence in spring. Adults feed on pollen and nectar, particularly from umbelliferous plants (Apiaceae) and Asteraceae, and use both olfaction and vision in host plant selection.
Attagenus fasciatus
Banded Black Carpet Beetle, Tobacco Seed Beetle, Wardrobe Beetle
Attagenus fasciatus is a cosmopolitan carpet beetle in the family Dermestidae, commonly known as the banded black carpet beetle, tobacco seed beetle, or wardrobe beetle. It occurs in North America, Oceania, Europe, and tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. The species is a significant pest of stored products, textiles, and animal materials, with larvae feeding on keratin-containing substrates.
Dermestes
skin beetles, hide beetles, larder beetles
Dermestes is a globally distributed genus of beetles in the family Dermestidae, comprising approximately 92 species. These beetles are specialized scavengers of dead and dried animal material, with larvae feeding on carrion, dried meat and fish, bone, hair, skin, and feathers. The genus has significant economic and forensic importance: larvae are destructive pests of museum specimens and stored products, yet are also deliberately employed to clean flesh from skeletons in taxidermy and forensic contexts. Some species assist in estimating postmortem intervals in criminal investigations.
Niditinea sabroskyi
Niditinea sabroskyi is a species of clothes moth described in 2018. It belongs to the family Tineidae, a group known for larvae that feed on keratinous materials. The species was named in honor of entomologist Curtis W. Sabrosky. Like congeners, it likely occupies habitats where animal-derived materials accumulate.
Omorgus texanus
Omorgus texanus is a skin beetle in the family Trogidae, first described by LeConte in 1854. The species is known from Texas in the United States and extends south into northeastern Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas). Like other members of the genus, it is associated with dry, sandy habitats and has been observed feeding on dried animal matter. The species is part of a diverse genus of hide beetles that play important roles in decomposition and nutrient cycling in arid environments.
Trichophaga
tapestry moths, carpet moths
Trichophaga is a genus of small moths in the family Tineidae, subfamily Tineinae. The genus includes approximately ten described species distributed across Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. The most well-known species is Trichophaga tapetzella, commonly called the tapestry moth or carpet moth, a pest of woolen textiles. Larval habits vary: at least one species has been documented living in pellets regurgitated by nocturnal birds of prey.
Trichophaga tapetzella
Tapestry Moth, Carpet Moth
A small moth in the family Tineidae with a widespread distribution. Larvae have been documented living in owl pellets, feeding on accumulated organic material including feathers and hair. The species is commonly known as the tapestry moth or carpet moth due to historical association with woolen textiles, though this habit is less emphasized in modern sources.
Trox
hide beetles
Trox is a genus of hide beetles in the family Trogidae, subfamily Troginae. The genus currently contains approximately 70 species divided among three subgenera: Trox (Trox), Trox (Niditrox), and Trox (Granulitrox). These beetles are specialized scavengers that colonize animal remains in advanced stages of decomposition, feeding on dried skin, hair, feathers, and connective tissue. They are among the last insects to visit carcasses, appearing after most other carrion fauna have departed. The genus has undergone significant taxonomic revision, with former subgenera Phoberus and Glyptotrox elevated to full genera and numerous species synonymized.
Trox fascifer
hide beetle
Trox fascifer is a species of hide beetle in the family Trogidae, found in western North America including California and British Columbia. As a member of this family, it is associated with decomposing animal remains, particularly dried skin, hair, feathers, and other keratinous materials. The species was described by LeConte in 1854.
Trox foveicollis
hide beetle
Trox foveicollis is a species of hide beetle in the family Trogidae, currently classified under the genus Glyptotrox. The species is known from the central and eastern United States and adjacent Canada. Like other hide beetles, it is associated with decomposing animal remains in advanced stages of decay.
Trox gemmulatus
Hide beetle
Trox gemmulatus is a hide beetle in the family Trogidae, native to arid and semi-arid regions of western North America. These beetles specialize in consuming desiccated animal remains, including dried skin, fur, feathers, and connective tissue. Adults are typically 8–11 mm in length and are known for their rough, debris-caked appearance and thanatosis behavior—feigning death when disturbed. The species is most active during spring and is frequently associated with the final stages of vertebrate decomposition.
Trox hamatus
Hide beetle
Trox hamatus is a hide beetle in the family Trogidae, currently classified under the genus Glyptotrox. It is a Nearctic species found primarily in the eastern and central United States and southern Canada. Like other trogids, it feeds on dried animal remains, including skin, hair, feathers, and connective tissue. The species was described by Robinson in 1940 and is now treated as a synonym of Glyptotrox hamatus in modern classifications.
Trox laticollis
hide beetle
Trox laticollis is a species of hide beetle in the family Trogidae. It is found in North America. Like other members of its genus, it is associated with decomposing animal remains, particularly dried skin, hair, and connective tissue in the later stages of carcass decomposition.
Trox robinsoni
Trox robinsoni is a hide beetle in the family Trogidae, described by Vaurie in 1955. Members of this genus are specialized decomposers that colonize carcasses in advanced stages of decay, feeding on dried skin, hair, feathers, and other keratinous materials when little else remains. The species occurs in the north-central United States and central Canada.
Trox scaber
Hide beetle, Scarab beetle
Trox scaber is a small hide beetle in the family Trogidae, measuring 5–8 mm. It has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution and is strongly associated with bird nests, where both adults and larvae develop. The species feeds on dried animal remains including skin, feathers, fur, and small dry carcasses. It is characterized by rough, sculptured elytra and pronotum with distinctive bristly scales, and exhibits a remarkable death-feigning behavior when disturbed.
Trox striatus
Hide beetle
Trox striatus is a hide beetle in the family Trogidae, occurring in the Nearctic region of eastern North America. Like other members of its genus, it specializes in consuming dried animal remains during the final stages of decomposition. The species has been recorded from scattered localities across the northeastern and midwestern United States and adjacent Canada.
Trox unistriatus
Trox unistriatus is a hide beetle in the family Trogidae, a group closely related to scarab beetles. Like other members of its genus, this species specializes in consuming dried animal remains, including skin, hair, feathers, and connective tissue. It is found across much of North America, with records from Canada and the United States. The species exhibits typical trogid behavior: freezing in a rigid posture when disturbed and accumulating debris on its body for camouflage.
Trox variolatus
hide beetle
Trox variolatus is a hide beetle in the family Trogidae, occurring across North America from Canada through the United States to Mexico. Like other members of its genus, it specializes in consuming dried animal remains, including skin, fur, feathers, and connective tissue during the final stages of decomposition. The species is typically covered in debris, making it cryptic and difficult to detect.