Anthrenus verbasci (Linnaeus, 1767)

Majka, Christopher G., 2007, The Derodontidae, Dermestidae, Bostrichidae, and Anobiidae of the Maritime Provinces of Canada (Coleoptera: Bostrichiformia), Zootaxa 1573 (1), pp. 1-38 : 14

Anthrenus verbasci (Linnaeus, 1767)

NOVA SCOTIA: 86 specimens examined from Halifax, Lunenburg , Kings , and Hants counties ( Table 1). The earliest record is from 1948 (Kings Co.: Porter Point, 1.vii.1948, K.D. Archibald, NSMC) .

An introduced Palearctic species, newly recorded from Nova Scotia and the Maritime Provinces as a whole ( Fig. 5 ). Cosmopolitan; found throughout the USA ( Beal 2003); in Canada recorded from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec (Bousquet 1991). Occasionally found in flour mills and warehouses, however, primarily a household pest; larvae feed on wool, fur, skins, and other materials of animal origin. They also attack insect collections and silkworm cocoons ( Bousquet 1990). In natural circumstances adults feed on the nectar and pollen of species of Heracleum , Anthriscus , Aegopodium , Daucus (Apiaceae) , Achillea , Anthemis , and Matricaria (Asteraceae) where they subsequently mate. Eggs are laid and larvae feed in nests of sparrows, swallows, corvids, starlings, swifts, and pigeons ( Woodroffe & Southgate 1954).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Distribution of Anthrenus fuscus Olivier, Anthrenus scrophulariae (Linnaeus) and Anthrenus verbasci (Linnaeus) in the Maritime Provinces of Canada.