feed on mainly dry-moist animal material but I have not
found them to be overly picky with their dining
preferences. There are many species of Dermestid
beetles that live in N. America and you have probably
come across them a time or two whether you know it or
not. These beetles will invariably show up at a carcass,
and leave behind a tell tale pile of shells which the
beetles discarded as they molted. Domestic colonization
of wild species has proven to be very difficult, however
the species most easily colonized is Dermestes
maculatus. These beetles undergo complete
metamorphosis; that is, egg, larval, pupal, and adult
stages. The complete life cycle lasts about 45 days per generation. The adult
beetles (shown on the right of the above picture), lay eggs which are too small to
be seen with the naked eye. A few days later very small larvae hatch out which
begin looking for their first meal. The larvae continue eating and molting 8 times
before they reach about ¾ of an inch in length (shown on the left of the above
picture). This growing and molting period lasts about 30 days. It is the larvae that
do the majority of the cleaning, however the adult beetles
will continue to eat, but they tend to have much
less of an appetite. When the large larvae mature
and their bellies are full they find a quite spot and
pupate. As they pupate their last outer larvae
skin falls off leaving them somewhat yellow in
appearance. 7 days later out comes an adult
beetle. Within a day or two the adult is laying 4-5
eggs a day and the whole process begins again.
My experience with the bugs has taught me some interesting facts about them
that may or may not be scientifically true. I have noticed that the overall
population of the bug colony fluctuates over time. Sometimes this is a blessing
and sometimes it means trouble when you are in the taxidermy business. When
my colony hits a peak population they will clean
up to two deer heads in a single day. However
that same colony a month down the road may take
several days to clean one deer head. I believe
this is because at some points there are more
beetles in the colony than larvae. The beetles
have much less of an appetite than the larvae
and therefore slow down the process of cleaning
the skull. I have learned to counteract this problem by having two separate
colonies in which I start at different times so one is usually always in it's peak and
ready to go.
One question I am sure you are wondering is if these things are dangerous or
not. After all, they are meat eaters! I get similar questions to this all the time, and
from my experience they are completely harmless. They don't seem to have an
appetite for living flesh, and although I have handled them thousands of times I
have yet to be bitten by one. I wish we could say that about mosquitoes. If
anything, these bugs do us more good than harm. Just imagine if nothing ate all
those dead carcasses out there.
Another common subject of the beetles colonies is their smell. I have noticed
that this is a touchy subject among some other
beetle raisers. There was once a very heated
on-line debate between two beetle growers about
the subject (one guy said they stink, one guy said
they didn't). What I do know is that my colony
does have an odor that I wouldn't care to be down
wind of when I'm eating my lunch. If the odor is
completely preventable I haven't discovered the
way yet, but I'll keep my ears open. On a side note, if you are considering a
European mount keep in mind that each skull goes through a rigorous cleaning,
degreasing, and whitening process after it is removed from the colony. When
completed there is no trace of the bugs or any odor.
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