BugFilter - Help me identify this caterpillar (Picture included)
June 4, 2006 9:53 AM Subscribe
BugFilter - Please, help me identify this caterpillar (Picture included) / My gf just found a couple of them when re-arranging the kitchen (closet, dark area, over wood surfaces) and we are since wondering if we must fear an invasion.
Here are some infos :
- We are living in Montreal, Canada - 2nd floor, in a century old building.
- We often buy exotic fruits and vegetables.
- My gf also found a few dry leftover skins.
- The bug is mostly shiny black/red, its head is slightly more red and it's got a very thin hair all over. ...Ha, and defensive gear at the back too.
- We share our space with a few house centipedes but nothing annoying or unusual.
- The weather is generally hot and humid during summer down here, and we're wondering if it could trigger a massive spread of thoose.
Do we have to tremble? Are they harmless? Thanks.
Link, just in case:
Picture of the caterpillar (bug01.jpg - 34kb)
Here are some infos :
- We are living in Montreal, Canada - 2nd floor, in a century old building.
- We often buy exotic fruits and vegetables.
- My gf also found a few dry leftover skins.
- The bug is mostly shiny black/red, its head is slightly more red and it's got a very thin hair all over. ...Ha, and defensive gear at the back too.
- We share our space with a few house centipedes but nothing annoying or unusual.
- The weather is generally hot and humid during summer down here, and we're wondering if it could trigger a massive spread of thoose.
Do we have to tremble? Are they harmless? Thanks.
Link, just in case:
Picture of the caterpillar (bug01.jpg - 34kb)
This looks to me like a carpet beetle larvae... they come in a number of varieties, but a google image search for "carpet beetle larvae" shows a few that look like your critter there... they eat natural fibers (wool, etc), and grains.
I had an apartment in Arizona that had an ongoing problem with these and I was always finding the leftover skins, which made it seem like there were a lot more of them than there actually were. Finding and removing the primary source of the infestation (a wool sweater) helped a lot, though we found them periodically until I moved.
posted by everybody polka at 10:48 AM on June 4, 2006
I had an apartment in Arizona that had an ongoing problem with these and I was always finding the leftover skins, which made it seem like there were a lot more of them than there actually were. Finding and removing the primary source of the infestation (a wool sweater) helped a lot, though we found them periodically until I moved.
posted by everybody polka at 10:48 AM on June 4, 2006
Response by poster: That "What's that bug" site is amazing.
I've found my bug there, thanks to Polka's hints about my bug being a capret bug larva. It's certainly a Dermestid Beetle Larva (scroll down middle of the page), feeding on cat's hair and food, or pantry.
Thanks a lot, your answers halped refine my google fu about it!
posted by Bio11 at 11:19 AM on June 4, 2006
I've found my bug there, thanks to Polka's hints about my bug being a capret bug larva. It's certainly a Dermestid Beetle Larva (scroll down middle of the page), feeding on cat's hair and food, or pantry.
Thanks a lot, your answers halped refine my google fu about it!
posted by Bio11 at 11:19 AM on June 4, 2006
Isn't it cool? Glad our collective brain power found your critter for you!
posted by iconomy at 11:30 AM on June 4, 2006
posted by iconomy at 11:30 AM on June 4, 2006
Hmmm. For scale I'm gonna need some real money in one of those photos...
/I keed I keed.
posted by shanevsevil at 10:12 PM on June 4, 2006
/I keed I keed.
posted by shanevsevil at 10:12 PM on June 4, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
Note for the squeamish - there are lots of photos of scary and horrifying bugs there. Even the caterpillar pages have a few grossouts...
posted by iconomy at 10:15 AM on June 4, 2006