The larvæ feed upon carpets and woolens (Fig. 2), furs, feathers (Fig. 3), bristles, and silks. They remain secluded in dark places, hidden beneath carpets or in the folds of garments. They eat irregular holes in fabrics, but in carpets tacked to floors they are more likely to eat slits following cracks. They never cause a webbing on the fabric. [Illustration: Fig. 2.--Typical carpet beetle damage to woolen cloth. For injury to feathers see Fig. 3.] While most conspicuous in the Northern States, this carpet beetle is frequently found in the latitude of Washington, D. C, and southward Specimens have, recently been sent from Texas and Florida. In a Washington storehouse the contents of a trunk closed for several years were found badly damaged by the larvæ. The following account[4] is just as applicable to-day as when written many years ago. [4] Howard, L. 0., in Bulletin 4, new series, Division of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture, pp. 58-59. 1896. The adult insect is a small, broad-oval beetle, about three-sixteenths of an inch long, black in color, but is covered with exceedingly minute scales, which give it a marbled black-and-white appearance. It also has a red stripe down the middle of the back, widening into projections at three intervals. When disturbed it "plays 'possum," folding up its legs and antennæ and feigning death As a general thing the beetles begin to appear in the fall, and continue to issue, in heated houses, throughout the winter and following spring. Soon after issuing they pair, and the females lay their eggs in convenient spots. The eggs hatch, under favorable conditions, in a few days, and the larvæ, with plenty of food, develop quite rapidly. Their development is retarded by cold weather or lack of food, and they remain alive in the larval state, in such conditions and particularly in a dry atmosphere, for an almost indefinite period molting frequently and feeding upon their cast skins. Under normal conditions, however the skin is cast about six times, and there are, probably, in the North, not more than two annual generations. When the larva reaches full growth the yellowish pupa is formed within the last larval skin. Eventually this skin splits down the back and reveals the pupa, from which the beetle emerges later. The beetles are day fliers, and when not engaged in egg laying are attracted to the light. They fly to the windows, and may often be found upon the sills or panes. Where they can fly out through an open window they do so, and are strongly attracted to the flowers of certain plants, particularly the family Scrophulariaceæ but also to certain Composite, such as milfoil (_Achillea millefolium_). The flowers of Spiræa are also strongly attractive to the beetles. It is probable, however, that this migration from the house takes place, under ordinary circumstances after the eggs have been laid.