Dermestid Files!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Larder Beetle Colony#2[Update#1]
Updates:I have added two more beetles to the colony and have fed them some fish flakes.I hopefully will get some babies in around 2-3 weeks!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The Bug Forum
I have made a forum [way before this blog] about bugs/insects/arachnids and other inverts.If you have any questions at all join up and ask away our members of staff should answer all questions big or small.
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
Dermestes Lardarius CareSheet!
Introduction-Dermestes Lardarius[commonly called the larder beetle] is found all over canada and North America excluding the Polar Regions.Larder beetles are small 8mm beetles that are often found on carrion like road kill.Larder beetles are often considered pests as they can infest stored foodstuffs.This guide will walk you through the Life Cycle of these amazing beetles and how to keep and maintain a colony of them!'
LifeCycle-Larder Beetles go through Complete Metemorphisis.Complete Metemorphisis has four life stages,egg,larvae,pupae and adult beetles.Eggs are laid near or on a food source.If no food source is found they will lay their eggs in nooks and crannies,under baseboards,in dirty clothes,drier lint and sometimes under the stove.The eggs are tiny and can't be seen without using a magnifying glass.The eggs take 5-14 days to hatch into tiny pinhead larvae.The larvae are small when they hatch barely visible with the naked eye.They grow to around 3/4 of an inch.The larvae do most of the eating.The larvae moult several times 6-7[6 for males,7 for females].If however the larvae can't find food it will still moult,however with each successful moult the larvae grows smaller instead of larger.The larvae stage lasts around 30-60 days depending on tempature and food.When the larvae are mature they look for a place to pupuate.They often burrow through wood and lead to avoid cannablization.The Pupae stage lasts around 7-15 days depending on tempature.When the adults hatch they mate and in around 3-5 days the females lay 3-5 eggs a day for around a month.Adults live around 1-1 1/2 half months.
Diet/Nutrition-Larder beetles will eat a vieriaty of foods.They commonly eat meats,cheese,dog/cat food,hides,stored food products[such as bran] and keritien[a hard substance that only a few animals are able to digest ex:Nails and Hair.]For moisture I use Cricket Orange Cubes.You'll wanna avoid adding water directly as it fouls easily and can stink really bad.
Making The Inclosure-The inclosure for larder beetles must have/do the following:Escape proof,Allow ventalation,Have a lid and most importantly have enough floor space for your colony.Suitable containers are:Rubbermaid containers,sweater containers and old aquariums.WARNING:THE INCLOSURE CAN NOT BE MADE OUT OF WOOD AS BEETLES AND LARVAE CAN CHEW THROUGH WOOD!!!!!!!!
Once you have the container you'll need some sort of substrate.I use oat bran as it is easy to sift and the beetles can eat it.Suitable substrate is:Papertowels,cardboard,oats,bran or nothing at all.
Once you are done that add the food ontop and Cricket water[Note:If your using papertowels you can just moisten them once every week or so!]
Maintence-Larder beetles require little attention just keep them fed and have a constent water supply.Once every few months when the substrate is all dusty stuff sift it out and put the sifted frass in a ice cream pale.Place some cat food and Cricket water in their for the babies.For the colony add more substrate and some cricket water and add them back to it.
Conclusion-Well there you have it that's how to start your own beetle colony.You can find them in your house look in old clothes and under carpets.
Have a Good One!
LifeCycle-Larder Beetles go through Complete Metemorphisis.Complete Metemorphisis has four life stages,egg,larvae,pupae and adult beetles.Eggs are laid near or on a food source.If no food source is found they will lay their eggs in nooks and crannies,under baseboards,in dirty clothes,drier lint and sometimes under the stove.The eggs are tiny and can't be seen without using a magnifying glass.The eggs take 5-14 days to hatch into tiny pinhead larvae.The larvae are small when they hatch barely visible with the naked eye.They grow to around 3/4 of an inch.The larvae do most of the eating.The larvae moult several times 6-7[6 for males,7 for females].If however the larvae can't find food it will still moult,however with each successful moult the larvae grows smaller instead of larger.The larvae stage lasts around 30-60 days depending on tempature and food.When the larvae are mature they look for a place to pupuate.They often burrow through wood and lead to avoid cannablization.The Pupae stage lasts around 7-15 days depending on tempature.When the adults hatch they mate and in around 3-5 days the females lay 3-5 eggs a day for around a month.Adults live around 1-1 1/2 half months.
Diet/Nutrition-Larder beetles will eat a vieriaty of foods.They commonly eat meats,cheese,dog/cat food,hides,stored food products[such as bran] and keritien[a hard substance that only a few animals are able to digest ex:Nails and Hair.]For moisture I use Cricket Orange Cubes.You'll wanna avoid adding water directly as it fouls easily and can stink really bad.
Making The Inclosure-The inclosure for larder beetles must have/do the following:Escape proof,Allow ventalation,Have a lid and most importantly have enough floor space for your colony.Suitable containers are:Rubbermaid containers,sweater containers and old aquariums.WARNING:THE INCLOSURE CAN NOT BE MADE OUT OF WOOD AS BEETLES AND LARVAE CAN CHEW THROUGH WOOD!!!!!!!!
Once you have the container you'll need some sort of substrate.I use oat bran as it is easy to sift and the beetles can eat it.Suitable substrate is:Papertowels,cardboard,oats,bran or nothing at all.
Once you are done that add the food ontop and Cricket water[Note:If your using papertowels you can just moisten them once every week or so!]
Maintence-Larder beetles require little attention just keep them fed and have a constent water supply.Once every few months when the substrate is all dusty stuff sift it out and put the sifted frass in a ice cream pale.Place some cat food and Cricket water in their for the babies.For the colony add more substrate and some cricket water and add them back to it.
Conclusion-Well there you have it that's how to start your own beetle colony.You can find them in your house look in old clothes and under carpets.
Have a Good One!
My Larder Beetle Colony #2
November 24th/09-Day#1-I have made a new colony of larder beetles.I have them in a small container with 6 small chambers.I have also put in oat bran and have seprated the larvae and the beetle by putting the beetle in one chamber and larvae in another.I will put the pupae into a diffrent one without bran in it.I'll keep you updated!
If you have any questions ask me on my forum
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
If you have any questions ask me on my forum
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
Pictures Of Dermestes Lardarius[Not mine i found them on google]
Here are a few pictures of Dermestes Lardarius,this is the type of Dermestid that i keep.
If you have any questions ask me on my forum
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
My Larder Beetle Colony #1
November 23/2009 Day#3-I have had this very small colony going for around 3 days or so,i have only one "queen"beetle.Her name Is Eve.I have her in a 12 by 6 inch container.For Substrate i have quick oats and some fish flakes.For food [besides the substrate] i have some cat food.For moisture i use orange cube cricket stuff as if you add moist carrot or paper towel it can mould the substrate and kill the colony.I have also added a small toliet paper roll as the beetle will like to hide in it and maybe lay her eggs on it or under it.I'll keep you updated on this small colony.
If you have any questions ask me on my forum
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
If you have any questions ask me on my forum
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
So what are Dermestes?
Dermestes are beetles in the family Dermestidae.There is two main species,Dermestes Maculatus [The Hide Beetle] and Dermestes Lardarius [Larder beetles] Dermestes go through complete metemorphisis which has four life stages:Egg,Larvae,Pupae and Adult.The Adult beetles mate and in about 3 days begin laying 4-5 eggs a day for around a month or more depending on food and tempatures.The eggs take any where from 3-14 days to hatch.Once they hatch the larvae eat the food and moult 6-7 times[6 for males and 7 for females] Once the larvae are at 3/4 of an inch long the larvae start to wounder around for a place to pupate they have been known to burrow through wood and lead.The pupae stage lasts 7-15 days depending on tempature.Once the pupae hatches the beetes mate and the whole proccess again and again.The total lifecycle lasts around 35-50 days depending on tempature and food. When food is scarce the larvae can still moult but instead of growing bigger they actually shrink!The larvae also are the main eaters in other words the larvae eat more then beetles.
Thats some information about Dermestes.I'll post more when i learn more.
If you have any questions ask me on my forum
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
Dermestes are beetles in the family Dermestidae.There is two main species,Dermestes Maculatus [The Hide Beetle] and Dermestes Lardarius [Larder beetles] Dermestes go through complete metemorphisis which has four life stages:Egg,Larvae,Pupae and Adult.The Adult beetles mate and in about 3 days begin laying 4-5 eggs a day for around a month or more depending on food and tempatures.The eggs take any where from 3-14 days to hatch.Once they hatch the larvae eat the food and moult 6-7 times[6 for males and 7 for females] Once the larvae are at 3/4 of an inch long the larvae start to wounder around for a place to pupate they have been known to burrow through wood and lead.The pupae stage lasts 7-15 days depending on tempature.Once the pupae hatches the beetes mate and the whole proccess again and again.The total lifecycle lasts around 35-50 days depending on tempature and food. When food is scarce the larvae can still moult but instead of growing bigger they actually shrink!The larvae also are the main eaters in other words the larvae eat more then beetles.
Thats some information about Dermestes.I'll post more when i learn more.
If you have any questions ask me on my forum
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
Introyucktion!
This is my dermestid blog.I will be posting everything i know/learn about dermestids here.If I find any photos on them on google i will show them here.I hope to make this blog a wounderful place for people to learn about dermestids and my experinces with them!If you want to ask me something join my forum and ask away we will help you out with any dermestid/insect/arachnid questions! http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
I'll keep you updated on Dermestids and maybe post a few journals about them!
Take Care!
I'll keep you updated on Dermestids and maybe post a few journals about them!
Take Care!
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