What is "carpet beetle"

Carpet \Car"pet\ (k[aum]r"p[e^]t), n. [OF. carpite rug, soft of cloth, F. carpette coarse packing cloth, rug (cf. It. carpita rug, blanket), LL. carpeta, carpita, woolly cloths, fr. L. carpere to pluck, to card (wool); cf. Gr. karpo`s fruit, E. Harvest.]

1. A heavy woven or felted fabric, usually of wool, but also of cotton, hemp, straw, etc.; esp. a floor covering made in breadths to be sewed together and nailed to the floor, as distinguished from a rug or mat; originally, also, a wrought cover for tables.

   Tables and beds covered with copes instead of carpets and coverlets.
   --T. Fuller.

2. A smooth soft covering resembling or suggesting a carpet. ``The grassy carpet of this plain.'' --Shak. Carpet beetle or Carpet bug (Zo["o]l.), a small beetle ( Anthrenus scrophulari[ae]), which, in the larval state, does great damage to carpets and other woolen goods; -- also called buffalo bug. Carpet knight.

   1. A knight who enjoys ease and security, or luxury, and has not known the hardships of the field; a hero of the drawing room; an effeminate person.
      --Shak.

   2. One made a knight, for some other than military distinction or service.

      Carpet moth (Zo["o]l.), the larva of an insect which feeds on carpets and other woolen goods. There are several kinds. Some are the larv[ae] of species of Tinea (as Tinea tapetzella); others of beetles, esp. Anthrenus.

      Carpet snake (Zo["o]l.), an Australian snake. See Diamond snake, under Diamond.

      Carpet sweeper, an apparatus or device for sweeping carpets.

      To be on the carpet, to be under consideration; to be the subject of deliberation; to be in sight; -- an expression derived from the use of carpets as table cover.

      Brussels carpet. See under Brussels.

n. small beetle whose larvae are household pests feeding on woolen fabrics [syn: carpet bug]

Carpet beetle may refer to any of several taxa of beetles:

• some genera of the Dermestidae, a beetle family, including:
  • genus Attagenus
    • black carpet beetle, Attagenus unicolor
    • brown carpet beetle, Attagenus smirnovi
    • Attagenus pellio
  • genus Anthrenus
    • varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci
    • Anthrenus scrophulariae, also known as the common carpet beetle