The dermestid beetle

Dermestid beetle

Dermestid beetle

Season for the dermestid beetle

Season for the dermestid beetle

Latin: Dermestes haemorrhoidalis.
A very close relative to the bacon beetle. The adult beetles are plain black or dark brown and have golden undersides. It has gradually become common all over Europe, especially in cities, where one of its main habitats is pigeons’ nests. Very littered apartments or businesses where food leftovers and kitchen waste have been allowed to lie for months are also good habitats for the dermestid beetle. Small populations can often get by with the remains found near pet food bowls.

Dermestid beetle, adult and larva

Dermestid beetle, adult and larva

Otherwise, dermestid beetles behave just like bacon beetles. To exterminate you have to be aware that a large number of pupal-ready larvae may be hiding under sweeping lists or under floors, where they are hard to hit with poison. The adult beetles can therefore appear several months after extermination.

DERMESTID LARVAE

DERMESTID LARVAE

DERMESTID LARVAE

usually wander away from the material they have been living in when they are fully grown (p. 73) and then gnaw into some other material and pupate there. In buildings they often attack timber, and in stores of hides or dried fish which have been attacked by the larder beetle the woodwork may, in the course of time, become completely riddled with holes.