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!