Skin beetle
From Freepedia
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| Image:Anthrenus verbasci 1 (aka).jpg Anthrenus verbasci | ||||||||||||||
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many, see text |
The skin beetles or Dermestidae (Gyllenhaal 1808) are a beetle family. The family includes about 700 species found worldwide.
They are generally of a compact or round shape, ranging in size from 1 to 12 mm, and of a dark overall color; most are densely covered with scales or setae, some with patterns of white, yellow, red, or brown. The (usually) clubbed antennae fit into deep grooves. The hind femur also fit into recesses of the coxa.
Dermestids have a variety of habits; most genera are scavengers that feed on dry animal or plant material such as skin or pollen. Members of Dermestes are found in animal carcasses, while others may be found in mammal, bird, bee, or wasp nests.
They are used in natural history museums to clean animal skeletons.
Thaumaglossa only lives in the egg cases of mantids, while Trogoderma species are pests of grain.
Reference
- John M. Kingsolver, "Dermestidae", in Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, American Beetles (CRC Press, 2002), vol. 2
