Dermestids

[Andrew]

Alright, so a little while back I found some little dermestids in my cricket tub. I buy something like 500-1000 cricks a week, so I guess eventually just got a batch with enough dermestid larvae, and they really hit it off. At first I thought it was interesting. The little furry caterpillars were fun to watch. Eventually there was a small colony of them in there. Still, thought it was interesting.

Now, its totally over-run with them. Every time I open the tub, a few fly out. Its a huge pain! None of the mantids like them either.

So, how should I get rid of them? Dermestids feed on dead and decaying stuff, I know that much. Simply tossing everything in the tub would seem like a good idea, but I'm worried that these dermestids may not be native here, and I don't want to introduce anything.

Whats the cold tolerance on them? Will they be killed by a light frost?

And if anyone wants any, I can pack up as many as you want and send them to you at shipping cost.

Though I doubt anyone would be interested in them...

 

[Peter Clausen]

Hi Andrew,

Though many freezers are set at different temps, I put a dried display I found in my garage that was laden with dermestid larvae into my bug freezer. 2 hours later and then after a brief thawing period, the dermestid larvae started moving again. I put the display back in for a few days and that seemed to do the trick. Not sure about eggs though!

I'd be interested in a follow up account of your experience with these.

I know the taxidermy hobby values dermestids. I get the occasional visitor to my site that asks if I know of a source for them.

This reminded me of a time when I was a teenager and I caught a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. I put it in the freezer for half the day. It was a perfect specimen. I swear I used to be able to smell them from a block away when I was a kid. Not kidding! They have a very sweet nectar-y smell. Anyway, I had pulled it out of the freezer and stuck a pin through it (old school-style). Another hour or two later and I brought a friend in to show off my butterfly. The poor thing was flapping its wings, weakly. It was ALIVE! I felt REALLY bad about it all and popped it back into the freezer.

Peter

 

[Orin]

There are a number of small pest species that are part of the Dermestidae, most are 3-4mm at adulthood and attack various dried animal and plant products. Only a few are in the genus Dermestes. It's surpising cold would eradicate them since most are found outside in temperate climates.

I have a small colony of Dermestes lardarius that appeared in another invert culture five or so years ago but the population has never exploded at all (there might be 50-100 of them) but I haven't tried adding things to the diet since if they went out of control I'd have to eradicate them. It's one of the largest dermestids at 7.5mm and it's sort of an interesting looking beetle because of the white shoulders.

 

[Hypoponera]

Be careful with Dermestid beetles. They are stored product pests! That means they will be only too happy to get into ANY dried food. I have found them in dry dog and cat food, hamster/gerbil food mix and pasta! They will eat dried beans, peas and for those that have them, mounted deer heads!

You can freeze them and it will kill the eggs if they are froozen for several days. You can also gas them with mothballs!

 

[macro junkie]

i buy crickts and every time i buy few packs i see a fury fast tiny catterpilla..?Dermestids?

 

[Orin]

They will eat dried beans, peas and for those that have them, mounted deer heads! You can freeze them and it will kill the eggs if they are froozen for several days. You can also gas them with mothballs!

There are many different kinds of dermestids and you'll find them in food products that are not properly contained. Of course you can't just put hunting trophies in a plastic box. Again, freezing isn't going to bother any temperate species. Moth balls will only kill them in a relatively airtight container.

i buy crickts and every time i buy few packs i see a fury fast tiny catterpilla..?Dermestids?

Almost certainly, if you save one and grow up the adult you can usually find out what species and genus from a photograph since most of the beetles look different (though the grubs have some minor differences they are generally unidentifiable).

 

[Andrew]

Sorry for the late response guys. I think I ended up leaving the whole tub outside for a few days. It got some rain and freezing temps, it got filled up with water a bit, and then I just dumped it. I don't know if they survived or not, or if any escaped, but they really needed to go.

 

[thebugwife]

Hey Andrew who do you buy crickets from?

With the weather here this week they should die!

 

[macro junkie]

i took a macro shot of one..who wants to see it..its not great cause it was moving fast.