Wyre Forest Study Group
7
April, 2020
Hatch of carpet beetle Megatoma undata
This hot spring weather has hastened the emergence of many insects. The Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis) males are out and flying around their tubes in my garden at Bliss Gate, waiting for the females to emerge. But these bees are not the only insects to have spent the winter inside the tubes, and on 7th April 2020 I recorded a hatch of the Carpet Beetle Megatoma undata.
This species was first recorded using Red Mason Bee nest tubes in the UK in 2010. The larvae feed on the bees’ fecal pellets, larval exuviae, the silk cocoons and the dead adults. Adults feed on pollen, and there can be 2 generations a year. I find this beetle using my bee nesting tubes every year now since I first spotted them in 2015.
A hatch of carpet beetles Megatoma undata from Red Mason bee tubes.