Anthrenocerus australis

The adult A. australis is a dark brown and black oval beetle, which grows to be around 2.2-2.5mm long. The back of the beetle's body has a hardened shell to provide protection for the delicate wings which retract beneath when the beetle is not in flight. When disturbed or threatened the beetle will freeze up and fold their legs into their body. They are "grub-like" Upon perceiving a threat, the hairs are erected to sharp needles, and lodge themselves into the predator. A notable feature of the A. australis larvae is their white and tan "colourful and distinctive patterned" complete setal bands. == Life cycle ==

After mating, the female flies to a location where the eggs are hidden and safe and, when hatched, the larvae can feed on. Capable of laying up to forty tiny "oval shaped and cream coloured eggs", smaller than one millimetre, the female lays each egg at a different location in crevasses of fibrous or animal products such as wool, cotton, or the hair and skin of dead animals. Once hatched, the larvae burrow into the material they were laid in and feed. Larvae are scavengers and prefer consuming natural fibres such as "silk, leather, feathers, wool and hair; and plant fibres such as cotton and other foodstuffs. Larvae also feed on the skin and hair of dead animals and insects; and spiders' webs". Larvae can live for between one and three years, and during cold periods can hibernate until warmer weather returns. During warmer weather, and in a dark setting such as the source of food they have habituated, the larvae will shed its skin for the final time and become a pupa for between ten and thirty days, and finally transform into the mature A. australis beetle. Unlike its preference as a larva, the adult beetle is attracted to light and is commonly found outside searching for food and feeds on pollen and nectar from flowers. The fully-grown adult beetle will live in nests and dead animal remains. The beetle may also be found in bee, wasp and ant nests, although as they are all natural predators to A. australis, host a risk of the beetle being eaten. Some of the common predators of A. australis are "birds, mammals, lizards, frogs, ants, spiders and parasitoid wasp larvae." As a fully mature adult, A. australis’ life span is only between two and six weeks. == Geographical distribution ==

Anthrenocerus australis was discovered by an English entomologist named Fredrick William Hope (Hope, 1843) who discovered, collected and named many species of beetles. The adult beetles do not need food to produce viable eggs. This may be a cause for the pervasive spread of the beetle, as they can reproduce on any surface even without consuming food and water. Because the beetle seems to prioritise reproduction over feeding, the distribution of the beetle through imported and exported products have resulted in cases all over the world including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium. Due to this, A. australis is not considered a pest in Britain. While this beetle is not considered an important pest in these countries, A. australis has a high-ranked pest status in New Zealand. == Pest status ==

In 1948 there were reports of large-scale infestations of A. australis in New Zealand. == Control/mitigation ==

In 1997, a study conducted in Belgium, the authors surmised that insects and mites cause around 30% of all stored food to become irreversibly damaged or eaten. Furthermore, as pesticides have become a standard practice of the mitigation of pests in agriculture, so have those pests developed a resistance to the efficacy of many pesticides. According to experts On an industrial scale, this chemical is favoured as it is an indiscriminate chemical affecting and killing most insects who come into contact with it. Bees do not seem to be affected by the chemical, which is beneficial for farmers and the ecosystems they contribute to. Another commonly used chemical is propiconazole, a compound which, when used to treat wool has shown results of the larvae consuming significantly less, as a result of gut or taste-related differences. While it is notably effective across a range of insects, this particular chemical showed to have the "greatest protective effect" on A. australis when dyed at as little ratio of 4:1000 on mass of wool to give full protection from the insect. While these chemicals do protect against agricultural goods, they are often discarded into waterways, poisoning almost all species of the aquatic ecosystem. Reinfestation can occur on through many means including bringing cut flowers into the house. == See also ==