They often look fuzzy rather than smooth.
The insect in this photograph appears to have a smooth, oval, flattened body with visible abdominal segments, and it has a reddish-brown coloration.
Those characteristics are much more suggestive of a bed bug than a carpet beetle larva.
However, a photograph alone isn’t enough to make a definitive species identification.
The Shape Is the Biggest Clue
Look closely at the insect.
It appears:
- Small and oval-shaped
- Reddish to reddish-brown
- Relatively flat
- Segmented across the abdomen
- Smooth rather than covered in long hairs
That
