Nose Bug
Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2023 1:31 am
Hello, this was found in the nose of someone who recently traveled to Mexico. It's small, barely visible to the eye, any help would be appreciated.
Most likely, this is the larva of a Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci), or a species closely related to it -
https://extension.msstate.edu/newslette ... vol-6-no-2
https://bugguide.net/node/view/95010
While rather unusual, it's probably not unheard of for one to occasionally, inadvertently crawl into the nose of a sleeping person. They are quite common in houses, where they feed on bits of organic debris, usually at floor level. If food crumbs are present in bedding, they would likely be attracted to that. They are roaming scavengers, and not in any way parasitic, so one being found in a person's nose would be purely incidental.