Bare Bones and Skulls
drwhitey@comcast.net    Oak Ridge, TN

I am no longer selling beetles. I am leaving this page for information only.

Culture of Dermestid Beetles

     Dermestid beetles are members of the insect family Dermestidae, commonly called carpet beetles, hide beetles, and larder beetles among other names. The particular species you have received is Dermestes maculatus. D. maculatus lives on dead, dry-moist animal matter which makes them the bane of taxidermists and museum curators. Fortunately, this feeding characteristic is great for cleaning bones.

Life Cycle
     The adult prefers to lay eggs on slightly moist material whereas the larvae thrive on dry flesh and connective tissue. Eggs hatch in 3-4 days and the larvae go through an average of 7 molts or instars, reaching pupa stage in about 45 days. The pupal stage is contained within the last larval skin. Adults have a fertile period of around 2 months and live up to 5 months.
     As with all insects, the life cycle is temperature dependent. Dermestids are sluggish below 70 degrees and adults cannot fly below 80-85 degrees which is good if you open their container at room temperature  – they won’t fly away. I use a reptile thermostat-controlled heat emitter and maintain a robust colony at 90 degrees.

Containers
     An excellent starting container is a small aquarium with a mesh top over it. You will want to scrape off the silicon corner treatments, however, to keep the beetles from crawling up the side. For a larger colony, a porcelain appliance like a chest freezer works great. They prefer to work in the dark although some of my customers report that a heat lamp works well.

Substrate
     The beetles need a substrate (bedding material) in which to hide and pupate. I use oil-free aspen pet bedding. Others simply put cardboard or Styrofoam in the container. The beetles will bore into this material. Over time, frass will develop and become part of the substrate also. Keep the substrate DRY. I do this by placing the specimen on a cardboard scrap which is placed on top of the substrate.

 Moisture
     If the substrate stays wet,  mites can develop and eventually destroy an entire colony. The way to prevent this is to always dry the skulls after cutting away all possible flesh, removing eye balls, and scraping out the brain. An old food dehydrater works well (you can add a section of 10-inch HVAC pipe) or an old barbeque smoker.  Place the skull in a shallow cardboard box in order to catch any fallen teeth. Cover with a paper towel which you can spray with water each day to keep it damp. Don’t spray the substrate. Humidity of the container should be about 50%

Caution
     Excess wetness of the substrate can lead to the presence of mites, Lardoglyphus zacheri. These mites can destroy a colony in quick order. They will be many small specks that look like dust. The best cure is prevention. Careful about letting ammonia build up. A well ventilated container helps. I ventilate mine by simply opening it at least once a day.

Pests
    Various pests can invade your culture. One of my customers who has been using dermestids for over a year recently found red-legged ham beetles in his culture. They are a small (5-6mm) metallic green-blue beetle with red legs. They prey on demestid larvae along with blowfly larvae and cheese skippers. For for info search the WWW for Necrobius rufipes.

 Summary
Dark, ventilated container with smooth sides - 90 degrees optimum
50% humidity - substrate dry; towels moist
Specimens dried to jerky levels
If no flesh available, feed them high protein dog food (small amounts)
They can live without food or water for a couple of weeks

Start small and let the colony build before putting a large specimen in.