Varied Carpet Beetle vs Pond Olive Mayfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Varied Carpet Beetle Pond Olive Mayfly
Scientific Name Anthrenus verbasci Cloeon dipterum
Order Coleoptera Ephemeroptera
Family Dermestidae Baetidae
Size 2-3 mm 6-9 mm
Habitat Underground Gardens
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Worldwide Europe, Asia
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Varied Carpet Beetle

A tiny, round beetle with mottled white, brown, and yellow scales on its elytra. It is a worldwide pest of natural fiber collections.

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Did You Know?

Museum curators consider it one of the greatest threats to insect specimen collections.

Pond Olive Mayfly

One of the few mayflies that breeds in still water including garden ponds and rain barrels. Unusually for a mayfly, females are ovoviviparous.

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Did You Know?

This is one of the only mayflies that gives birth to live nymphs rather than laying eggs, a unique trait in the order.