So sorry it's been like 2 months since my last update.Here are the things i'll be updating on:
-Enclosures
-Foods
-My colony
-Other stuff.
I'll be posting A load to make up for lost times.
Dermestid Files!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Forum Updates
Been awhile since i've updated on my forum.
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
Which FYI is now 1 year old.It was a year old on Jan 18/2010.
Here are some stats:
Our users have posted a total of 2210 articlesWe have 29 registered users, The newest registered user is Rdawg93Most users ever online was 9 on 16 Dec 2009 12:19 am
http://bugsnstuff.myfineforum.org/index.php
Which FYI is now 1 year old.It was a year old on Jan 18/2010.
Here are some stats:
Our users have posted a total of 2210 articlesWe have 29 registered users, The newest registered user is Rdawg93Most users ever online was 9 on 16 Dec 2009 12:19 am
Long Overdue Updates
March 12th/2010-Long Overdue Updates- So far i have 8 larvae.I have them in those little containers you get when you buy mealworms from the pet store.These dudes are huge now!Almost an inch long and fatter then mealworms!They have been fed on my mealworm gutload as it is high in protien.I also have several pieces of cardboard for hides.In a nutshell all is good!Can't wait till i see some beetles!Should be here by the end of this month.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Been a while
It's been 15 days since my last update!So far i have 12 larvae of varius sizes in my colony and all is well.I have them in my kritter keeper setup with construction paper and papertowel.I feed them hotdogs.I'll keep you updated~!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Dermestid Beetle Colony Journal
Jan 22/2010-[in my science fair project i clearly stated that your not allowed to add anymore or anyless then what you started with so they are in a test setup and if all goes well when the science fair project thing is over i'll add the other colony to the setup.]I found two more larvae and i have them in a tube setup and no food for the first day.[seems to make em eat more.]Come tommorow though they will get one small piece of cat food and then when they finish it they have to wait a day to get fed again.I think you get the cycle Anyway when the colony does get larger like 20+ I'll feed bigger amounts and continue to do so from then on.I have for some reason a light colored larvae and a very big dark larvae.I think this is due to the fact that as larvae go through their instars they grow larger and more darker.I'll keep you updated on this capitive colony!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Dermestes Lardarius SOTM
Subject: Dermestes Lardarius SOTM! Today at 12:50
IntroductionDermestes Lardarius is commonly known as the larder beetle or the bacon beetle.Larder beetles are common all throughout North America.Larder beetles were a common pest of lard shops and meat shops.Now larder beetles are more commonly find in homes.They are usually found around lamps,lights and windows.Life CycleLarder beetles,like all beetles go through complete metamorphisis.Complete Metemorphisis has four life stages.Egg,Larvae,Pupae and adult.Adults mate and males will soon die.Females at this time avoid lighted areas and search for a suitable food source.If however no food source is found the female beetle will lay her eggs under cloths,carpets,pillows,old mattresses and of course in and under old couches.Eggs take anywhere from 7-21 days to hatch,this of course depends on tempature and humidity.Once the eggs hatch into larvae,the larvae begin to do either one of these two things:1-Begin eating the food source their mother laid their eggs on.Or2-Begin to search for a suitable food source and begin eating.Larvae go through a series of moults and instars,each instar increasing in size and growing darker.If for whatever reason during the larvae stage a larvae can't find anymore food they continue to moult but grow smaller with each sucseesful moult.Larvae go through 5 if male and 6 if females.Once a larvae is fully grown[Anywhere from 3/4 of an inch to 1/2 an inch.] they begin to wounder or migrate away from their food source.This is often the time homeowners find the larvae either in their beds or sometimes in the bathroom.This min invasion can last anywhere from a week to a month.Once a larvae finds a suitable place to pupuate[They often burrow short distances into wood,lead,cork or drywall to pupate.] they either lose their last larvae skin or pupate within the last larvae skin.A pupae is creamy white and only moves if provoct.It darkens with age.In about a week or two an adult beetle emerges to start the cycle all over again.Adults can live anywhere from 1-3 months or to a year.The total life cycle takes anywhere from 45-190+ days.Keeping Dermestes Lardarius In CaptivityOkay so i thought i'd go into more detail on how to keep and raise Dermestids. Part 1-Making The Perfect Inclosure. Making The inclosure is often one of the most fun and injoyable things to do when raising dermestids.You will need some supplies though. Matierals Scissors Duct Tape Screen Container [Can be anything from a sandwhich container to a 20 gallon rubbermaid tub.I'll talk about this more in depth later.] Egg Cartons/Crates/Papertowel rolls[Depending on what you perfer to use.] Steps Okay so first step is to cut a hole [depends on the size of the container but i'd suggest a hole the size of the middle and leave 1 inch on each side or so.] Now duct tape the screen over the hole[On Both Sides of the lid.] Next up is to add the Egg Cartons/Crates/Papertowel rolls.I suggest added the Egg Cartons/Crates verticle [If you have the space.]If not just stacking on onto another works just as well.]If you stack them verticle the frass[Poop] falls to the floor of the inclosure. Now That you have Your inclosure made time to talk about what sizes fits how many dermestids. From a sandwhich container to a 10 by 10 cage:These will fit around 100-400 dermestids. 12 by 12 cage To a 10 gallon-These hold 500-1500 dermestids. 12 Gallon t0 a 20 gallon-This will hold 1600-3000+. 20+gallon-These hold about 5000-10 000 dermestids. I recomend starting small and working your way up seems way more injoyable then just getting 2000.I personally started my dermestid Colony from a single gravid female that i Called Eve. In the next Tutorial i will talk about food/water requirements for Dermestids Here is Part 2! BTW i actually make these posts on my blog i'm too lazy to repost them so i copy and paste them if your intreasted here is my blog: http://dermestidfiles.blogspot.com/ Part 2-Food And Water Requirments. Dermestids,like all living organisms must eat and drink to stay alive and healthy.Here is just a few of the things i have tried that seem to work out well: Cat food/Dog food Goldfish crackers[makes them go insane and grow rapidly.] Fish flakes/Fish pellets Reptile bites/pellets Amphipian Pellets I have also made a tuturial on how to make Dermestid Chow Which can be found here: http://dermestidfiles.blogspot.com/2009/12/dermestid-chow.html All i do is place a little bit of food on one side of the inclosure [Tips for making an inclosure can be found here:http://dermestidfiles.blogspot.com/2009/12/dermestid-carepart-1-making-perfect.html ] as then the larvae and adults [which can't climb food dishes] can get to the food and eat/lay eggs in it.When your colony gets so big they eat all their food in one day make a food dish.Here is how i made mine: Take one of those dishes that you get from take out at a pizza place.Clean it out with hot water and dry it.Cut to holes one on each side with a nife.I make it so some food falls out.Now the dermestids can just eat out of the food dish.If your colony gets to big for this method,do the same thing just with a bigger container with a lid. Now for water Requirements. If your scared of the babies dying in water then i suggest using water gel or cricket orange cub stuff.Don't worry if they dry out they stll eat them.If you don't have gel then a piece of papertowel that is moistened a bit but will go dry in about 10 hours or so.I've heard from others that you will never see your colony as active as after a light misting. Well there you have it thats Part 2 of Dermestid Care. In Part 3 We will talk about General Maintence Of Your Dermestid Colony! -koolkid Dermestid Care:Part 3 General Maintence Of Your Colony Once your dermestid colony is established you'll need to know about maintaining your colony.Usually maintence is only required once a week or so.Big maintence is only needed every 3-6 months.First we'll talk about Weekly Maintence. Weekly Maintence All you need to do weekly is check up on your colony and check on food/water.If you are on of the people who mists the papertowel you should do this once a week.If you use gel just check out the water gel and if it seems like it's lowering fast,add more.Now if the food is low add more food.If your one of those neat freaks[which is totally not needed!~] you can take out any of the dead beetles/larvae.If not forget about it they were ment to eat dead insects so if you leave on a trip and an hour later you think "damn i should have fed them!"no worries your covered!Next up is Big Maintence! Big Maintence This is only done 3-6 months but can be done every 9-12 months.I perfer every 3 months just to keep the inclosure a little bit clean.This comes in steps.I'll explain each step individually so it's easier to get it done! Cleaning out the Dermestidarium! The first step in Big Maintence!All you have to do is try to get all the beetles/larvae into a diffrent "holding container" then dump the frass into a ice cream pale and start sifting with the smallist sifter you have.You are likely to lost a few smallish larvae so do the sifting over the ice cream pail.Once you have most of the colony sifted add them into the holding container.Next take out the egg flats/crates/papertowel rolls and add them too into the holding container. Now take hot water and wash out the inclosure for 3-5 minutes.[DON'T USE SOAP!] if you use food dishes clean these out the same way. Drying the inclosure. I thought this diserved it's own part as there is many diffrent ways to dry your inclosure.The first is with papertowel.You want the inclosure as dry as possible.Same rules apply for the food dishes.Next method is use an old wash cloth that is dry and do the same thing for both the inclosure and the food dishes.Once dry it's now ready for the next step! Making the inclosure as good as new! Okay now that you have a clean inclosure add the hides and food into the food dish or how you had the food last time.Next add more water gel or a papertowel misted once.Wait for about 10 minutes before adding them back into their Dermestidarium.Then add them back to their home! Making multiple colonies! Now lets say you have about 100-1000 dermestids,You should think about setting up another inclosure. This is because setting up multi colonies can save your life in the long run.I'd suggest having 2-6 colonies going at once just in case one dies then you still have another one to replace it. Well that concludes part 3 of the Dermestid Care!If you have any more questions or think i left something out p.m me or add a comment on my forum!
-koolkid
IntroductionDermestes Lardarius is commonly known as the larder beetle or the bacon beetle.Larder beetles are common all throughout North America.Larder beetles were a common pest of lard shops and meat shops.Now larder beetles are more commonly find in homes.They are usually found around lamps,lights and windows.Life CycleLarder beetles,like all beetles go through complete metamorphisis.Complete Metemorphisis has four life stages.Egg,Larvae,Pupae and adult.Adults mate and males will soon die.Females at this time avoid lighted areas and search for a suitable food source.If however no food source is found the female beetle will lay her eggs under cloths,carpets,pillows,old mattresses and of course in and under old couches.Eggs take anywhere from 7-21 days to hatch,this of course depends on tempature and humidity.Once the eggs hatch into larvae,the larvae begin to do either one of these two things:1-Begin eating the food source their mother laid their eggs on.Or2-Begin to search for a suitable food source and begin eating.Larvae go through a series of moults and instars,each instar increasing in size and growing darker.If for whatever reason during the larvae stage a larvae can't find anymore food they continue to moult but grow smaller with each sucseesful moult.Larvae go through 5 if male and 6 if females.Once a larvae is fully grown[Anywhere from 3/4 of an inch to 1/2 an inch.] they begin to wounder or migrate away from their food source.This is often the time homeowners find the larvae either in their beds or sometimes in the bathroom.This min invasion can last anywhere from a week to a month.Once a larvae finds a suitable place to pupuate[They often burrow short distances into wood,lead,cork or drywall to pupate.] they either lose their last larvae skin or pupate within the last larvae skin.A pupae is creamy white and only moves if provoct.It darkens with age.In about a week or two an adult beetle emerges to start the cycle all over again.Adults can live anywhere from 1-3 months or to a year.The total life cycle takes anywhere from 45-190+ days.Keeping Dermestes Lardarius In CaptivityOkay so i thought i'd go into more detail on how to keep and raise Dermestids. Part 1-Making The Perfect Inclosure. Making The inclosure is often one of the most fun and injoyable things to do when raising dermestids.You will need some supplies though. Matierals Scissors Duct Tape Screen Container [Can be anything from a sandwhich container to a 20 gallon rubbermaid tub.I'll talk about this more in depth later.] Egg Cartons/Crates/Papertowel rolls[Depending on what you perfer to use.] Steps Okay so first step is to cut a hole [depends on the size of the container but i'd suggest a hole the size of the middle and leave 1 inch on each side or so.] Now duct tape the screen over the hole[On Both Sides of the lid.] Next up is to add the Egg Cartons/Crates/Papertowel rolls.I suggest added the Egg Cartons/Crates verticle [If you have the space.]If not just stacking on onto another works just as well.]If you stack them verticle the frass[Poop] falls to the floor of the inclosure. Now That you have Your inclosure made time to talk about what sizes fits how many dermestids. From a sandwhich container to a 10 by 10 cage:These will fit around 100-400 dermestids. 12 by 12 cage To a 10 gallon-These hold 500-1500 dermestids. 12 Gallon t0 a 20 gallon-This will hold 1600-3000+. 20+gallon-These hold about 5000-10 000 dermestids. I recomend starting small and working your way up seems way more injoyable then just getting 2000.I personally started my dermestid Colony from a single gravid female that i Called Eve. In the next Tutorial i will talk about food/water requirements for Dermestids Here is Part 2! BTW i actually make these posts on my blog i'm too lazy to repost them so i copy and paste them if your intreasted here is my blog: http://dermestidfiles.blogspot.com/ Part 2-Food And Water Requirments. Dermestids,like all living organisms must eat and drink to stay alive and healthy.Here is just a few of the things i have tried that seem to work out well: Cat food/Dog food Goldfish crackers[makes them go insane and grow rapidly.] Fish flakes/Fish pellets Reptile bites/pellets Amphipian Pellets I have also made a tuturial on how to make Dermestid Chow Which can be found here: http://dermestidfiles.blogspot.com/2009/12/dermestid-chow.html All i do is place a little bit of food on one side of the inclosure [Tips for making an inclosure can be found here:http://dermestidfiles.blogspot.com/2009/12/dermestid-carepart-1-making-perfect.html ] as then the larvae and adults [which can't climb food dishes] can get to the food and eat/lay eggs in it.When your colony gets so big they eat all their food in one day make a food dish.Here is how i made mine: Take one of those dishes that you get from take out at a pizza place.Clean it out with hot water and dry it.Cut to holes one on each side with a nife.I make it so some food falls out.Now the dermestids can just eat out of the food dish.If your colony gets to big for this method,do the same thing just with a bigger container with a lid. Now for water Requirements. If your scared of the babies dying in water then i suggest using water gel or cricket orange cub stuff.Don't worry if they dry out they stll eat them.If you don't have gel then a piece of papertowel that is moistened a bit but will go dry in about 10 hours or so.I've heard from others that you will never see your colony as active as after a light misting. Well there you have it thats Part 2 of Dermestid Care. In Part 3 We will talk about General Maintence Of Your Dermestid Colony! -koolkid Dermestid Care:Part 3 General Maintence Of Your Colony Once your dermestid colony is established you'll need to know about maintaining your colony.Usually maintence is only required once a week or so.Big maintence is only needed every 3-6 months.First we'll talk about Weekly Maintence. Weekly Maintence All you need to do weekly is check up on your colony and check on food/water.If you are on of the people who mists the papertowel you should do this once a week.If you use gel just check out the water gel and if it seems like it's lowering fast,add more.Now if the food is low add more food.If your one of those neat freaks[which is totally not needed!~] you can take out any of the dead beetles/larvae.If not forget about it they were ment to eat dead insects so if you leave on a trip and an hour later you think "damn i should have fed them!"no worries your covered!Next up is Big Maintence! Big Maintence This is only done 3-6 months but can be done every 9-12 months.I perfer every 3 months just to keep the inclosure a little bit clean.This comes in steps.I'll explain each step individually so it's easier to get it done! Cleaning out the Dermestidarium! The first step in Big Maintence!All you have to do is try to get all the beetles/larvae into a diffrent "holding container" then dump the frass into a ice cream pale and start sifting with the smallist sifter you have.You are likely to lost a few smallish larvae so do the sifting over the ice cream pail.Once you have most of the colony sifted add them into the holding container.Next take out the egg flats/crates/papertowel rolls and add them too into the holding container. Now take hot water and wash out the inclosure for 3-5 minutes.[DON'T USE SOAP!] if you use food dishes clean these out the same way. Drying the inclosure. I thought this diserved it's own part as there is many diffrent ways to dry your inclosure.The first is with papertowel.You want the inclosure as dry as possible.Same rules apply for the food dishes.Next method is use an old wash cloth that is dry and do the same thing for both the inclosure and the food dishes.Once dry it's now ready for the next step! Making the inclosure as good as new! Okay now that you have a clean inclosure add the hides and food into the food dish or how you had the food last time.Next add more water gel or a papertowel misted once.Wait for about 10 minutes before adding them back into their Dermestidarium.Then add them back to their home! Making multiple colonies! Now lets say you have about 100-1000 dermestids,You should think about setting up another inclosure. This is because setting up multi colonies can save your life in the long run.I'd suggest having 2-6 colonies going at once just in case one dies then you still have another one to replace it. Well that concludes part 3 of the Dermestid Care!If you have any more questions or think i left something out p.m me or add a comment on my forum!
-koolkid
Black Carpet Beetle Journal Update #1
January 17 2010-I figured out that the one larvae is actually a larder beetle larvae and it is now in my larder beetle colony.The beetle is still alive and i may be moving her into a new setup soon.I hope this colony eventually takes off and makes a wounderful colony by next year as they are slow breeders compared to larder beetles.I hope to at least keep you updated on this colony as my other on is being used for my science fair project for the next 4-9 weeks.I have also named the beetle Gizmo as i needed a name for this colony's queen.
New Larder Beetle Colony Journal Update#3!
January 17th 2010-I moved them yet again to a new setup as i'm afraid if i drop the glass jar it will go boom and destroy my colony .Anyway they are in a nail box with a lid.I have cut a hole into it and taped some screen onto it for air flow.This colony is also gonna be used for my science fair project which i start tommorow i may not be updating in a while due to the science fair project which may take 4-9 weeks to complete I will however be keeping you updated on my other dermestid beetle colony with queen gizmo.I hope the project works out and i'll be back to updating soon enough!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Dermestes Lardarius New colony Update #2
Jan 13/2010-I have moved them due to now i have another dermestid colony.They are now in a glass jar with tolite paper and some cat food.If they are sucsessful and have around 4-10 beetles i'll start feeding them hotdogs.Until then they stick to catfood.Colony count3 larvae0 adults
Black Carpet Beetle Journal Update #1
I found a larvae of this species so now i have a gravid female and a larvae :) .Bad news is that they take anywhere from177 days to 666 days to go through their lifecycle :( Larder beetles only take 35-60 days to complete their lifecycle.
Colony count
1 larvae
1 adult
Colony count
1 larvae
1 adult
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Randomn Carpet Beetle Information
Carpet beetles, as their name implies, are capable of damaging carpets. These pests will also feed upon many other materials besides carpets and will attack any item composed of animal fibers such as wool, furs, silk, feathers, felt and leather. Serious infestations of carpet beetles can develop undetected in a home, causing significant damage to clothing, bedding, floor coverings and other articles.Identification and Habits
Although there are many different species of carpet beetles, the adults (shown right) of all species are small, oval-shaped beetles about 1/8 inch long. The black carpet beetle (the most common species) is shiny black. Adults of other common species are brightly colored in various patterns of white, brown, yellow and orangeThe larvae (shown right) or immature stages of carpet beetles are about 1/4 inch long and densely covered with hairs or bristles. Only the larval stage feeds on fabric and causes damage. The adults feed on flowers, but are often seen indoors around light fixtures and windows, indicating that a larval infestation is present somewhere within the home.
Carpet beetles feed on a variety of animal-based materials including wool, fur, silk, feathers and leather. Items commonly infested include wool sweaters, coats, blankets, carpets, down pillows and comforters, and upholstered furniture. Synthetic fabrics such as polyester and rayon are rarely attacked unless they are heavily soiled with food stains or body oils.
They prefer to feed in dark, undisturbed areas such as closets, attics, within boxes where woolens and furs are stored, along and under the edges of carpeting, underneath upholstered furniture, and in air ducts where they feed on lint, pet hair and other bits of debris.
Carpet beetle infestations may also originate from bird or animal nests or an animal carcass present in an attic, chimney or wall void. They also occasionally feed on seeds, pet food or cereal products in the kitchen or pantry.
Source:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef601.asp
Although there are many different species of carpet beetles, the adults (shown right) of all species are small, oval-shaped beetles about 1/8 inch long. The black carpet beetle (the most common species) is shiny black. Adults of other common species are brightly colored in various patterns of white, brown, yellow and orangeThe larvae (shown right) or immature stages of carpet beetles are about 1/4 inch long and densely covered with hairs or bristles. Only the larval stage feeds on fabric and causes damage. The adults feed on flowers, but are often seen indoors around light fixtures and windows, indicating that a larval infestation is present somewhere within the home.
Carpet beetles feed on a variety of animal-based materials including wool, fur, silk, feathers and leather. Items commonly infested include wool sweaters, coats, blankets, carpets, down pillows and comforters, and upholstered furniture. Synthetic fabrics such as polyester and rayon are rarely attacked unless they are heavily soiled with food stains or body oils.
They prefer to feed in dark, undisturbed areas such as closets, attics, within boxes where woolens and furs are stored, along and under the edges of carpeting, underneath upholstered furniture, and in air ducts where they feed on lint, pet hair and other bits of debris.
Carpet beetle infestations may also originate from bird or animal nests or an animal carcass present in an attic, chimney or wall void. They also occasionally feed on seeds, pet food or cereal products in the kitchen or pantry.
Source:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef601.asp
Black Carpet Beetle Information
(Actual Size 1/4 inch - 7-8mm) Black carpet beetle larvae
This as the most abundant and widespread of the carpet beetles and is the species which causes the greatest damage to fabrics and other keratin containing articles throughout most of the United States.
Adults are shiny black with brownish legs, and grow to a length of 1/8- to 3/ 16-inch.
They are frequently found outdoors in flowers and are most numerous in the spring and early summer.
Carpet beetle larvae are frequently pests of insect collections and other museum specimens.
Since they are attracted to floweres, and in the spring of the year the adult Black Carpet Beetle may fly into the house. They lay eggs either indoors or outdoors, beginning 4 to 8 days after the adult emerges. Each female lays approximately 50 eggs over a period of about 3 weeks, after which she dies. Indoors, these eggs are deposited in accumulations of lint, in air ducts, underneath baseboards and other similar places. Eggs hatch in 6 to 11 days in warm weather.
Body color varies from a light brown to almost black. They can develop under a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions, and are much less susceptible to environmental changes than are clothes moths.
Larvae may grow to 1/2-inch long over a series of 5 to 11 molts. They tend to avoid lighted areas, so are found most frequently in the lower parts of clothes closets, rolled up or wrapped into woolen materials, at the edge of carpeting under baseboards, or inside upholstered furniture. Mature larvae can wander rather widely, so may be found anywhere in a building. It is not at all unusual to find them in a bathtub, kitchen sink, or even crawling on walls and ceilings.
Black carpet beetle larvae are general feeders, feeding on dead animal materials, hair, fur, hidesand horns, as well as the usual woolen products and many plant materials such as cereals, stored grain or nuts. They tend to be surface feeders on wool, usually eating the nap from fabric and leaving the base threads relatively unaffected. However, they are quite capable of eating large, irregular holes through any suitable food material. In fur, hairs are cut at the base with no injury to the hide. The hair then readily drops out leaving a bare appearance to the hide. Black carpet beetle larvae frequently burrow through containers to obtain food, leaving small openings through which other insects may enter to cause additional damage. Cast skins and frass in the form of minute, irregular pellets are frequently found on infested fabrics. Black carpet beetle larvae may live as short as 9 months to as long as 3 years, depending on their diet and environmental conditions. Larvae pupate in the last larval skin, with the pupal state lasting from 6 to 24 days.
Source
http://www.pantrypest.com/black.htm
This as the most abundant and widespread of the carpet beetles and is the species which causes the greatest damage to fabrics and other keratin containing articles throughout most of the United States.
Adults are shiny black with brownish legs, and grow to a length of 1/8- to 3/ 16-inch.
They are frequently found outdoors in flowers and are most numerous in the spring and early summer.
Carpet beetle larvae are frequently pests of insect collections and other museum specimens.
Since they are attracted to floweres, and in the spring of the year the adult Black Carpet Beetle may fly into the house. They lay eggs either indoors or outdoors, beginning 4 to 8 days after the adult emerges. Each female lays approximately 50 eggs over a period of about 3 weeks, after which she dies. Indoors, these eggs are deposited in accumulations of lint, in air ducts, underneath baseboards and other similar places. Eggs hatch in 6 to 11 days in warm weather.
Body color varies from a light brown to almost black. They can develop under a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions, and are much less susceptible to environmental changes than are clothes moths.
Larvae may grow to 1/2-inch long over a series of 5 to 11 molts. They tend to avoid lighted areas, so are found most frequently in the lower parts of clothes closets, rolled up or wrapped into woolen materials, at the edge of carpeting under baseboards, or inside upholstered furniture. Mature larvae can wander rather widely, so may be found anywhere in a building. It is not at all unusual to find them in a bathtub, kitchen sink, or even crawling on walls and ceilings.
Black carpet beetle larvae are general feeders, feeding on dead animal materials, hair, fur, hidesand horns, as well as the usual woolen products and many plant materials such as cereals, stored grain or nuts. They tend to be surface feeders on wool, usually eating the nap from fabric and leaving the base threads relatively unaffected. However, they are quite capable of eating large, irregular holes through any suitable food material. In fur, hairs are cut at the base with no injury to the hide. The hair then readily drops out leaving a bare appearance to the hide. Black carpet beetle larvae frequently burrow through containers to obtain food, leaving small openings through which other insects may enter to cause additional damage. Cast skins and frass in the form of minute, irregular pellets are frequently found on infested fabrics. Black carpet beetle larvae may live as short as 9 months to as long as 3 years, depending on their diet and environmental conditions. Larvae pupate in the last larval skin, with the pupal state lasting from 6 to 24 days.
Source
http://www.pantrypest.com/black.htm
Black Carpet Beetle Journal
Jan 12/2010-I found another dermestid species.I have 1 adult gravid[from what i can tell.] female beetle and a small slow larvae.The adult is like 3-5 times smaller then a larder beetle.I have them in my old dermestid home.I'm experimenting with diffrent food starting with Hotdogs.My other colony ate them so why not?I'll keep you updated.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Dermestes Lardarius New colony Update #1
Larvae/Beetle Count
3 larvae
0 beetles
Janurary 9th/2010-This colony has been "boosted" with some larvae i have found all over my house.I have 3 larvae and i think in the next few day's i'll have more as i keep finding more.This time i have no bedding just the food on the bottom and some Cricket Orange Cube for moisture.I hope this colony does well i have a name for the first female Queen Sparta.I hope the colony works out!
3 larvae
0 beetles
Janurary 9th/2010-This colony has been "boosted" with some larvae i have found all over my house.I have 3 larvae and i think in the next few day's i'll have more as i keep finding more.This time i have no bedding just the food on the bottom and some Cricket Orange Cube for moisture.I hope this colony does well i have a name for the first female Queen Sparta.I hope the colony works out!
Happy Late New Year
Sorry i haven't updated very much i have been very busy lately.Anyway happy late new year!I hope 2010 holds a lot more information for this blog and that my goals work out as well as i planned[or better.].
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