Hide and Larder Beetle

Hide and larder beetles are similar in behavior, but somewhat different in appearance. Hide beetles are up to 3/8″ long, and usually black with a white underside. Larder beetles are the same size, without a white underside but have a horizontal light yellow band on their back. Larvae for these beetles are both up to 5/8″ long, with long hairs. Hide beetle larvae have a light yellow stripe along the length of their body, that the larder beetle larva lacks. Both types of beetles prefer to eat products of animal origin. Leather, hides, animal trophies, dried meats, pet foods, dead animals, and dead insects are all eaten by both types of beetles. These are the beetles that are sometimes used by museums to clean any remaining flesh particles off of skeletons. Larder beetles are more likely to be found in stored food, and hide beetles are more likely to be found in hides or leather – but they both can be found in the same places. Hide beetles can be a problem in chicken houses, where they get into food, droppings or feathers. Both beetles can infest dead animals in wall voids, or bird nests. In these cases they can be difficult to control, since the larvae will travel a great distance from the source. When the larvae mature, they look for a place to pupate. Generally they look for a hard surface to bore into, such as wood, cork, or drywall – sometimes crawling up walls 20-30 feet high. In bad infestations they can cause enough damage to be of structural concern.