PEST NAME : FUR BEETLE, TWO SPOT CRPET BEETLE (Attagenus pellio L)

SIZE, SHAPE AND COLOUR :  4.5 to 5mm. Adult shiny black with a clear white marking on each wing case and white spots at the base of the prothorax. Short clubbed antennae.

BIOLOGY : 50 to 100 eggs laid. Larvae hatch and moult 6 to 20 times. Pupation is within the last larval skin. The adult beetle hatches after 3 to 20 days.

PREFERRED FOODS :  Any high protein animal materials. Often found in stored grain and cereals and dry vegetable products.

HABITAT :  Throughout the UK. Often in flour mills and provender mills.  Warehouses and meat processing premises.