#dermestid beetle

[onenicebugperday]

Varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci, Dermestidae

Found throughout the world, the varied carpet beetle is commonly found in homes. Larvae feed primarily on animal fibers like wool, feathers, fur, leather, hair, hide, dead bugs, silk, and dry pet food. While not harmful, they can be destructive. Adults feed on flower nectar and only incidentally enter homes, especially in spring, often to find a food source to lay eggs near.

Photo 1 by gustavopt, 2 by suejaggar, 3-5 by tshahan, 6 (for scale) by miskatoniq, 7 (larva) by the_knower, and 8 (larva w/dime for scale) by jbower

[th3wizardoz]

I have always known the beetles I work with can fly, like in theory, but they never have in the two years I’ve been on the project.

So imagine my surprise when I got swarmed by them at 11 in the fucking morning today.

[pacificremains]

A jar of my hungry pets who have come to the end of their natural life. Rest in satiety, my little friends.

[chameleocoonj]

🕸️🎃👻SPOOKY BUGS👻🎃🕸️

[museoftheelephant]

We have some carrion beetles at the insect petting zoo I work at that we feed by letting them clean up some bones! Made me think of you, so here is there enclosure (wasn’t able to get any lucky bugs in the photo though 😔)

OH MY GOODNESS OH MY GOD OMG OMG OMG I PLAN TO KEEP A COLONY OF DERMESTID BEETLES IN THE FUTURE FOR THIS EXACT PURPOSE (yes they will be getting warrior cats names)!!!!!!!! THEYRE SUCH GOOD HELPERS I LOVE THEM SM!!!!! AND THOSE ARE GGGGORGEOUS BONES OHMYGOODNESS!!!!!!!! running around in circles running around in circles running around in circles

Putting a sign above the enclosure that says “ELIJAH DNI (do not ingest)” /lhj

[fantabulisticity]

PHOTO DUMP 2

[hofftrans]

Google is not being helpful at all so I'm gonna try tumblr, so if anyone knows what countries/locations those bugs are from that are occasionally used in taxidermy to eat flesh (dermestid beetles I think?) bc google is just full of sponsored ads but I know my autism gang on here must know

[headinthebox]

Reminder for people keeping specimens of animals/bugs. Beware of dermestid beetles (dermestes maculatus). Dermestid beetles are an important part of the natural process, since they feed on the decomposing flesh of animals and other bugs. However, if you intend to preserve a specimen, you need to watch out for these little guys.

Here are a few ways that you can prevent dermestid beetles from feeding on your specimens:

1. If you are preserving a specimen yourself, make sure you are removing the majority of internal organs so your specimen does not rot. Dermestid beetles feed on rotting bodies, so as long as you take measures to keep the body from rotting, dermestid beetles will be less likely to feed. This is mainly aimed toward specimens like frogs, birds, bats, anything with large organs. You can usually skip this step if you are preserving small beetles or butterflies, but even some larger bugs like giant katydids need to be cut open and their insides need to be removed. If the removal of the internal organs drastically changes the shape of the specimen’s body, you can stuff the body with cotton and glue the seam shut to keep the shape.

2. If you have a specimen with a large body, but not large enough to cut into, you can inject the body with alcohol. Much like preserving a wet specimen, injecting alcohol into the body of a specimen will help prevent remaining tissue and organs from rotting, and will also help keep your specimen in its pose. However, depending on the size and softness of your specimen, alcohol may not be a long term solution to rotting. Alcohol may need to be re-administered later on to ensure dermestid beetles don’t try to eat the specimen.

3. Freeze your specimens. Dermestid beetles will die after being frozen, so if it so happens that a dermestid beetle or its eggs/larvae have unwarrantedly made a home among your specimen, freezing them for 3-4 days will kill the dermestid beetles. It is always a good idea to routinely freeze your specimens, even if they look clean and untouched. An ounce of prevention.

The photos at the beginning of this post are of one of my luna moths that unfortunately started being fed on by a dermestid beetle. This is the damage of only one beetle, so I’m sure you can imagine what a group of them could do. Please watch out for your specimens, and do what you can to ensure they are properly maintained! Not only for the specimen itself, but also for your own safety. Decomposing animals are a biohazard, and may be a threat to your health.

[skull-hoarder]

So I had to buy a duck for my dermestid colony as I have always wanted a duck skull and well they need to eat

I had to buy him alive of course, I had to slaughter him (difficult thing, they have tough necks apparently) and fully prepare him

(Here he was already dead)

I removed the skin, the big muscles and the viscera, then I just put a little fan on it for a couple of hours to dry out some of the meat of the skeleton so I could put it with the dermestid without it sticking to the paper

I would have liked to macerate this to preserve the complete beak sheath but I can't waste any food on these critters

Plus, appreciation photo of the beautiful color of its feet

[prettyputrified]

guys,,, @misterteeth makes my day every day it SHE

[greyphitus]

Incredible diversity of dermestid beetles! Image from Entomology Today article. Some of them don't look related at all.

Species in alt text, or check out the article for more info.

[pacificremains]

Feeding my children their supper

[chameleocoonj]

dermestid beetle + cuban tree snail

[ill337erate]

Some weeks ago I picked up a dried out dead possum with some dermestid larvae crawling on it. The photos show how the bones currently look. I’m going to try raising these beetles and have my first dermestidarium! I’ve been wanting invertebrate pets for a while and these guys are perfect. I bought an old aquarium from a classmate and I’m making a mesh lid for it out of magnets and tuile to keep out any parasites and keep in any adventurous beetles. Haven’t seen any adults yet but I have seen some pretty small larva, so I think that’s a good sign!

[drhoz]

A quick reminder to any of my readers with insect collections - make sure your moth balls etc are up to date. Carpet beetles got into two of my collection boxes

[heedra]

not going to use the tag going round bc it feels gauche to post a real dead animal in there but LOOK at this field find.