77 replies to this topic

[AntsAreUs]

Hey dermy I just found some of these in my house, maybe I can start a colony now!

[dermy]

That's great! I like seeing people try out dermestids

[dermy]

Just thought I'd say I have three Dermestes lardarius beetles now. Hopefully I can find more as the Season progresses. I need to find a way to keep them alive and well during the winter, they seemed to stop breeding last year.

[dermy]

I'm officially done with counting these insects because there is too many larvae in the colony now

[dermy]

Guess I will give some people an Update on how well thse guys are doing and on my other Dermestid beetle project.

 

My Attagenus unicolor Colony turned 1 Year old on May 6/2015, I have since then done very little with them [you can pretty much throw in food and leave them alone] but I have managed to get a rough estimate on how many are in the Colony about 350-400+ at least. I am hopeful that they will hit 500-700+ by the end of the summer, which seems kind of like a small goal, should hit 1000+ If all goes well

 

My next Project is with a new Dermestes lardarius Colony, the largest start-off I've ever had, I'm calling it a Super Colony because I want a huge giant Dermestid beetle Colony to mess around with. Right now there is around 60-80+ and they are growing slowly but surely. I have thrown them into a rather "New" System, I want to start testing out how well they work for eating left-over table scraps, like bread, and chips and all that "Garbage" hence the Name Dermy's Garbage Colony

 

I am also starting another Larder beetle Colony with 4 Females inside a Jar Setup I created with "Film Holes" more on that later

[dermy]

My mind has blown with all the Scientific Data regarding Dermestids! I will be conducting a very scientific [to me anyway] "study" of sorts about the egg laying power of one Female Dermestes lardarius If you want more information [or links to what I've been reading] feel free to comment below.

[dermy]

Got some pics of my Dermestes lardarius Colony for you guys, and eventually a short video once I upload it to youtube!

 

 

 

I will get that video up soon and edit this post with it in it It's pretty crazy how they "Swarm" everywhere. I was actually worried they'd fly out at me.

 

Edited by dermy, June 16 2015 - 7:47 AM.

[dermy]

Started feeding these guys with some food waste!
Colony Pictures:

Here is a quick picture of a piece of bread just added, I will post another one in a few days to show the change!

Also here is a weird Dermestid beetle I found in my Colony:

[dermy]

Here is a Care-Sheet I just Put together, not completely sure if it's 100% complete but here it is:
 

Dermestid Beetle Care-Sheet 2015

Introduction
Dermestid beetles are a family of Beetles that is found World-Wide. They are often kept to clean skulls and skeletons, but also make great easy to care for pets that will eat virtually anything. They come in various different shapes and sizes. There is over 1000 Known Species of Dermestids, averaging anywhere from a few mm to about 10 mm for the larger Dermestes species, which is the common species used in Skeleton Preparation.

Different Species
As said above there is about 1000 known species of Dermestid beetles, but not all of them make good pets/workers. Some are known as very bad Pests, such as the famous Khapra beetle which is a serious pest of grain in some areas. Some are minor pests in homes, such as Carpet beetles [Anthrenus, Trogderma and Attagenus] and some Larder Beetles [Dermestes lardarius] but they aren't very common now-a-days compared to the old days when we used Natural Carpets and hung meat to "Cure".

The main species used in Skulls and Skeleton Preparation is Dermestes maculata, or the Hide Beetle, under certain conditions these will also become pests of Hides and Pet foods, much the same as Dermestes lardarius. But unlike Dermestes lardarius Dermestes maculata has a very unique "Characteristic" they are supposedly unable to fly at any Temperature under 80F [around 22 C] so that makes them perfect for In-Home/Garage Skull Cleaning. I've seen Dermestes lardarius however fly like mad at Room Temperature before. In fact I'm unsure where the Cut-Off is with them being unable to fly anymore.

Other Species that are easy to get and care for are Attagenus and Antrhenus, these are the Carpet Beetles, they are common in homes and other buildings around the World. The three most common species are Anthrenus verbasci [Varied Carpet Beetle] and Anthrenus flavipes [Furniture Carpet Beetle] as well as Attagenus unicolor [Black Carpet Beetle. Most of these species are found World-Wide in Range.

Depending upon where you live you may not be able to find some species, but you should be able to find at least one of the Cosmopolitan species, If all else fails there is usually some suppliers online, but be weary of Mites/other pests, since some aren't as reliable as others.

[b]Pictures of Certain Species[/b]
Dermestes lardarius


Video
Here is a video I made not long ago of my Dermestes lardarius Colony:

Attagenus unicolor
Here is a video slide-show I made a while back on my Current Colony:

Now time to discuss some important Questions I get all the time,

1- How many do I need to start a Colony?
Well the more you have at the start the faster your Colony will grow, but I have in the past tested out the theory that you can start a Colony from one Gravid Female, which worked perfectly well, and I have to say that if you want a fun time then I'd try it out for yourself too! Maybe making two Colonies at the start. You can then eventually mix both Colonies together once they both get larger, if you wish.

One thing I want to mention here, if you are getting Dermestids for Skull Cleaning then you need a lot more then 1 female to start a Colony! Depending on what kind of Skulls you will be cleaning and how many you will be cleaning in what amount you will clean you will need more depending on each of those questions. Typically a Deer Skull will take at least 5000-10,000 Beetles to do it in reasonable time [remember that it is meat and will get pretty nasty if it takes longer then a week or so] A colony of 1000 will usually take around a few months at least to get around the size to clean a Deer Skull, the more beetles you get the faster they will populate to the size of Colony you need.

2- Once I start a Colony can I add new Stock to the Colony or will they fight?
Dermestids are not eusocial so they do not form Colonies like Eusocial Insects do [Think Bees, Wasps and Ants] so they do not make Colony Scents. As far as I know as long as it is the Same Species they should do fine, just make sure any new stock is mite free, and is the same species and they should be fine. They don't "Fight" as far as I know [males might chase away other males in a crowded environment but that is probably about it].

                 Dermestidariums
Now that you have [or are planning to get a Colony of Dermestids] you should then consider the Dermestidarium, well first off what is a Dermestidarium?
Dermestidarium- The Enclosure or Home for the Dermestid Beetle Colony to live, breed and feed.
There are a ton of different and bizarre Dermestidariums out there. Some are super simple others are very complicated and sophisticated. It really comes down to asking yourself a two part Question:
"What will I be using the Colony for? How much do I want to spend?" those are the two most important questions, if you are just after a cheap fun hobby then it won't cost you too much. Now if your going to start Cleaning a ton of Deer Skulls then you will need a much larger more controlled Dermestidarium.
For the sake of keeping everything semi-neat and tidy I want to separate the two, Hobbyists in one and then Skull Cleaners in another, since the Setups are very different in each situation. Some Dermestidariums for example will not work well for skull cleaning.

For the Hobbyist
For someone who just wants a simple Colony to look after or to Feed food scraps to then the Dermestidarium can be either as simple as you want or as complicated as you want. Since you will not be cleaning Skulls with the Colony I'd suggest starting off either with a smaller Colony or a Smaller Dermestidarium. It is always cool to watch a Colony of 100 or so Dermestid Beetles turn into a Large Colony, of course that takes time. Depending upon the Amount of Dermestids you start out with it may take months or even longer to get a really huge Colony growing, but It is much more enjoyable to get them to grow in your care.
Here are a few examples of various types of Dermestidariums that you can use:

1- Standard   These are simply put, just Containers with a few air holes in them, they work well for Colonies that are just starting out or for those who don't want to worry about making  a fancy Dermestidarium for their Colonies. These work great for a beginner because well you can always get larger containers when your Colony grows. You can essentially Grow with the Colony so to speak.

Customizable These are much more complicated Dermestidariums then Standard ones. They do require a bit of work to make but are very "Unique" in the fact that you can add different things depending on what Colony or how you want to keep the Colony. I like these   because you can go all out or just add a few nifty features and every-time you make another one you will almost always be thinking about adding more features and it can be pretty fun to see what you can come up with.
Here are a few of my designs for "Hobby" Dermestid beetle Keeping:
General Dermestid Beetle Setup

Dermestid Jar Setup 2014/2015

Here is the inside:

In use:


Other Setups I've Used

Skull Cleaning Dermetidariums
As I've said in the last Post, Skull Cleaning Colonies
require a bit of a different Setup then just Traditionally keeping Dermestids, this is mainly because you need a lot of space to accommodate a skull or even skulls
depending upon how many Skulls you will be doing in what amount of time.
The sizes depend greatly on what you will be cleaning, for just small specimens such as mice, birds and other small animals then something like a 10 Gallon Aquarium works well, where as for someone who is going into business with skull cleaning something much larger will be needed. There are various types of Cuztimizable "Chest Freezers" that most professionals use to house their Colonies. These are expensive but definitely worth it if your going to be doing a ton of skull cleaning or very large Skulls, such as Deer, elk and moose. Of course like Hobbyist Dermestid Keeping you can always start out small and work your way up.

Any of the Dermestidariums discussed here have their Strengths and Weaknesses, but for the most part their is always a Dermestidarium designed for your needs! It might take a bit to figure out which one but sometimes that is the fun of it all, testing and experimenting to find out what works best for you and your needs.

If you want to find out more about Skull Cleaning and the use of Dermestids feel free to Join up and join the Conversation!

Nutrition
For some it can be as simple as feeding their Colonies skulls and trimmings from the skulls but for others it can become a little more challenging, especially if you aren't a big time Skull Cleaner and don't do many Skulls in a Season well don't worry this is where you will learn some tricks on how you can feed your Dermestid beetles in the Off-Season or when you just don't have Skulls or meat to feed them. Just like the last section I will be separating this into what a Hobbyist Should do as well as what a Skull Cleaner should do since they can be very different.

Hobbyist
For the general Hobbyist who doesn't have a very large or productive Colony that needs tons of meat or food to survive there is always making your own home-made Diet, there are plenty of options out there and "Recipes" for different ones, it all depends on what you want to feed them. The most stable food source for Hobby Colonies is Dry Pet Food, such as Cat or Dog food, however bare in mind that some people have had mite issues while using Dog or Cat food, which can pose a serious risk for a Colony. We will talk about that and other issues a bit later on in the Care-Sheet.

Skull-Cleaner
For someone who is planning to do a bunch of skulls then you should steer clear from pet food entirely, you do not need to deal with mites or anything like that when your doing skulls, trust me on that! What you should be doing from the get-go is saving up any scraps from your Skulls to feed your colony in the Off-Season. That way you won't have to spend so much money on your Dermestids. Although if you do run out of food because you thought you had enough food for the Colony don't freak out, hot-dogs are supposedly great food sources for beetle colonies, it is advised to dry them out for a bit however as you don't want mold issues.

Before you feed any skull to your beetle colony make sure you have prepared it well first!
1- Remove the eyes, tongue and brain matter [assuming you want to do it fast and less stinky, although I have heard people say leave in a bit of brain matter for Population growth if need be, but warning it will stink nasty if the Colony isn't a certain size]
2- It always helps to remove as much meat as you can from the skull, this means less time for the beetles to eat and consume it and means you get scraps for them in the Off-Season.
3- Dry the skull in the front of a fan, preferably indoors, so flies don't lay eggs on it. If you have had them outside freeze them for 48-72 hrs so that any maggots, eggs or anything of that sort is not on the skulls. They can be a pain to get rid of so prevention is key!

Pest/Issues
Nothing would be complete without having some Issues with Something, chances are you are likely going to deal with at least some Issue or Pest during your time as a Dermestid Beetle Keeper. There are two main problems, Pests and then Other Issues. I will discuss them both separately.
Pests
There are many Insects that can potentially become problem pests of Dermestid beetle Colonies. Those include, but are not limited by:
1- Red Legged Ham Beetles- These are probably the most widely known pest Insect of Dermestid beetle Colonies, and there is a very good reason why! They are known to eat Dermestid beetle Larvae, and although in a large Colony with just a few Red Legged Ham Beetles it can easily be taken care of the Problem can escalate very quickly and you can even loose Colonies to the Red-Legged Ham Beetle. There is one thing you can do to prevent it. Make sure your Dermestidarium is Escape Proof as well as making sure that all food that goes into the Colony that isn't from a safe reliable source is Frozen for at least 48-72 hrs before adding it to the Colony! Weekly/Monthly inspections of the Colony should also be done, and any red-legged ham beetles should be killed.
Mites! Mites are perhaps the worst Pest that you can get, they can completely wipe out any size Colony relatively fast, and there isn't many things out there to rid the Colony of them without killing the Colony. I've heard of using Formic Acid strips but I'm unsure where to get them. There is two things to do:
1- Look for mite-free beetles and start over, look very carefully on the beetles, anything that is not usually there or is moving means they might have mites. Once you have all the Mite-Free Beetles you can Find kill off the other colony and make sure you clean the Dermestidarium thoroughly with soap and water and allow it to air dry before using it again!
2- Just destroy your Colony and get a New Fresh Batch of Beetles, this is a hard one, but easy to do. It does cost money though, especially if you are just a general Hunter and not in the Skull Cleaning Business as the beetles can get quite Costly to replace. Especially if you have spent so much time building them up!
Mold
Mold isn't as hard-core as Mites or Red-Legged Ham beetles, for the most part you can just allow the Dermestidarium to dry out. Remove any moldy food though! If it is serious then remove whatever is moldy and get rid of it.
Other Issues
There are many other Issues that may plague you especially in the first year of Dermestid Keeping, but for the most part they are minor and need a little TLC to get everything back to running order.

Beetles not reproducing fast enough: Well there could be many things with this issue, Mites, food that isn't of highest quality, I find that Colonies grow very slow with Dog Food and just go out of control with Meats, especially Dermestes species, not so much Carpet Beetle species.

Beetles Flying! Well for some species you really can't help this [Dermestes lardarius] but for the famous Dermestes maculata they say they don't fly anywhere below 80F so keep your temps in the High 70's and you should be good to go. Obviously you can turn the temps down 5 or so minutes before you open up your Dermestidarium and see if that helps the Flying.

[dermy]

So It's been a while since I had last done anything with the Dermestes lardarius Colony, So last night I decided to do a big check up on them as well as a cage upgrade. Man did they need it! The "Colony" is at 300+ and tons of babies! I have given them a much larger Home and some Food/Water Dishes. I also finally gave them a "screen" on top not a very good one but it will work for now! Will post pics when I can!

[LC3]

This must be the longest post on the forum XD.

[dermy]

Haha I think there has been a few bigger posts then that

[dermy]

So yesterday [they are still doing it today] I noticed the Larvae/Beetles in my Dermestes lardarius Colony have been swarming, here is a Photo-Slide-Show I made of them:

 

I can't wait to see how well they do in the next few months I wouldn't be surprised if they over-throw 500+!

[dermy]

Just in case anyone wanted to see how my Colony is doing and more about what the beetles/larvae look like here you go:

 

[LC3]

I like your videos better than your slide shows. Hows your Attagenus doing?

[dermy]

Thanks. They are doing pretty good, not doing much though [lazy beetles must be on strike or something...] If you want I can get a video on them [they aren't as fast but still pretty neat to look at how different larvae colours can be. Some are orange and some are darker.

[dermy]

Just a quick little update, I cleaned my room a few days ago, and found about 100+ more Attagenus unicolor for the Colony, both Species are now living in the same container working on eating a Wasp nest [they are doing good at the moment] I'll try to get pics and a video soon.

[dermy]

I'm starting to notice my lardarius are dying off again.... but the Attagenus are doing great, I have no clue how many I have but they've been busy feeding on a wasp nest, and have done okay. Although since I've also added a nest to my mealworms [which just destroyed it in less then a week] their attempt at doing so in about a month without much "change" kind of makes them in superior to mealworms....