AboutEric R. Eaton Expertise I can answer most questions related to wasps, solitary bees, grasshoppers and katydids, beetles, cicadas, and spiders, especially requests to identify "mystery bugs" in North America!
Experience
Past/Present clients Principal author of the "Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America" (in bookstores now!), Smithsonian Institution (contract), Cincinnati Zoo (employer), Portland State University (contract), Chase Studio, Inc (employer), Arkansas Museum of Discovery (guest speaker), Krohn Conservatory, Cincinnati (volunteer trainer, guest speaker).
Expert: Eric R. Eaton Date: 7/2/2008 Subject: Mystery very small red/brown flying beetle
Question I've read several questions attempting to ID small brown flying beetles in homes. I live in KS, but not a rural area. The bug I am describing I have found only in my kitchen and family room (adjacent) to this point. It is very small - larger than a gnat, but not by a lot. About 1mm in size. It does have small antennae although you really don't see them easily, a very small head that is darker brown than its body and generally slightly smaller in width. The insect has only two segments (head and body). The wings tuck under a harder shell on the surface. They fly, but don't buzz around the room, they just seem to fall out of nowhere. Several have dropped onto my laptop while I have been typing, but you don't see or hear them flying. They are very easy to kill once they've landed. A small press of the index finger is all it takes, and they move quite slowly. I have read several replies about confused flour beetles, red flour beetles, and fungus beetles, but the descriptions just don't seem to fit what I'm dealing with here. They have shown up in my home very recently in large numbers (although I have seen bugs like them in the past in small numbers). Can you make another attempt at identifying this little pest.
Answer
Jim:
You are most likely describing a carpet beetle (family Dermestidae, especially genera Anthrenus, Trogoderma, and Attagenus), or one of the beetles in the family Anobiidae (cigarette beetle, drugstore beetle, or deathwatch beetles). Collectively, along with the flour beetles, mealworms, and granary weevils, etc, they are known as "stored product pests." Deathwatch beetles actually bore in wood, so are sometimes considered structural pests. They can emerge from firewood, furniture, or even your home itself, long after the erection of the home of the purchase of that chair, table, or dresser. So, I'd be on the lookout for tell-tale piles of sawdust....
Otherwise, you need to find the source of the infestation and discard the item. This could be anything organic: birdseed, dry pet food, cured meats, spices, grains, dried beans, cereals, woolens, furs, taxidermy mounts, my insect collection....You get the point. Store all vulnerable foodstuffs in glass or metal containers with tight-fitting lids (including pet food). Store woolen blankets and garments, furs, and silks in a cedar chest, as cedar has proven repellent qualities.
You can find very good images of the above-mentioned beetles at:
