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Post by colin12303 on Jan 5, 2013 12:44:28 GMT -8
Can't believe i just saw this on ebay,someone is selling live dermestid beetle larvae and they have got a bid. 130830543618Item number:
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2013 12:56:07 GMT -8
Insane, maybe its one of the anti collecting brigade, hell bent on the worldwide destruction of all butterfly collections.
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Post by bandrow on Jan 5, 2013 14:48:57 GMT -8
Greetings, To an entomologist with a prized collection, this may seem to be insanity But... dermestid beetles are used regularly to clean delicate skeletons in taxidermic work. Cleaning the bones of small rodents, amphibians and reptiles is a delicate job, but is done well by dermestids. They also are able to get into all the sinuses and crevices of skulls to fully clean the inside surfaces. Museums use them regularly to clean specimens for study and I'm sure they're used by individuals in taxidermy as well. Having said that - I ain't buying any!!! Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by lordpandarus on Jan 5, 2013 16:36:59 GMT -8
I didn't know dermestids had any uses
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rjb
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Post by rjb on Jan 5, 2013 20:32:56 GMT -8
I keep a culture of them going just for fun. Not the obnoxious insect collection-eating Anthrenus, just some carrion eating Dermestes. Whenever I trap deer mice in our attic, I donate them to the Dermestes culture. The deer mice carry hantavirus which is really a nasty disease, so no one wants deer mice in their home. The Dermestes just keep thriving year after year. If a sharp-shinned hawk gets a dove in the yard, I grab the remains and the Dermestes have a feast. Rick
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Post by colin12303 on Jan 6, 2013 2:41:09 GMT -8
At this rate dermestid beetles could be the new fashionable pet. Forget your persian cat and minature dog get yourself a jar full of carrion eating beetle larvae. Feeding not a problem any diseased rodent or road kill will do.
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rjb
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Post by rjb on Jan 6, 2013 8:37:58 GMT -8
Well, I wanted a condor, but I couldn't get a big enough cage, Rick
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bas
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Post by bas on Jan 6, 2013 14:07:20 GMT -8
are these Bad insects ?? im not famliar with the species but as I understand they are a thread to collections am I right??
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Post by lilstinkpot on Jan 6, 2013 19:57:10 GMT -8
Bas, it depends on your point of view. As mentioned above, some dermestids have a fondness of insect collections (carpet beetles come to mind). And then there are those that use the beetles to clean things. If it weren't for dermestids (and we didn't have flies, ants, vultures and scarabs), we'd be knee deep in dead critters.
I would not call them bad. I would just call them opportunistic.
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bas
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Post by bas on Jan 9, 2013 2:17:45 GMT -8
oke and do them come as very small parasites inside dried specimen that you buy?? Im a new collector and the specimens I got are framed in double glazing but I orderd my first drawers now so I want to protect my collection of course because its something I put passion and money in.
maybe you can tell me if I have to beware and What I can do to prevend damage
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rjb
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Post by rjb on Jan 9, 2013 6:51:34 GMT -8
Anthrenus beetles are a common pest of insect collections. They are found in homes worldwide, and they mostly eat animal protein like wool and discarded flakes from human or pet skin. If they find your dried insect specimen, they will feed on it, usually leaving a pile of frass that you can see, and reducing the specimen to nothing. I lost quite a few click beetles when I missed an infestation that got into one of my elaterid drawers. Over the years I've lost maybe 100 out of my 60,000 beetles this way. Wool clothes are stored with moth repellent to keep away wool-moths and Anthrenus beetles. You also have to protect your dried insects somehow or you will have a problem. There has been a lot of discussion about this on insectnet in other threads. Rick
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bas
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Post by bas on Jan 9, 2013 10:24:50 GMT -8
Thank you Rick I will inform with my entomology shop about this as well but My word 60k beetles thats really amazing I have now about 20 saturnidae specimens hahah but it wil triple in the next month and probably grow very big in the months after that anyway I will keep my eyes open I dont want to lose specimens
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rjb
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Post by rjb on Jan 9, 2013 19:14:02 GMT -8
60K is not so many considering how many are out there. I don't buy, I only field collect and it has been 40 years and lots of weeks in tropical jungles and I favor small beetles. So 96 drawers holds everything. Now 60K purchased Saturnids would cost quite a bit and take up a lot of space! Rick
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bas
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Post by bas on Jan 10, 2013 6:03:29 GMT -8
Okee well I habe never been to a jungle it is probably a very harsh and hostile envirement with loads of insects am I right But an upside is thats probably fairly easy to disvover new insecct specimen and name them after yourself? Bas
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Post by wollastoni on Jan 10, 2013 6:20:46 GMT -8
Depends of jungles... Lowland jungles can be hard with many leeches, mosquitos, snakes, parasites, exhausting humidity... Altitude jungles like Central Papua are rather safe places ! :-) I heard Rwanda had wonderful pleasant forests before the genocide. Nowadays it's harder and harder to find a new species of butterflies even in those remote places. You have to go in "virgin to science" areas to be sure to find new stuff, like the Lost World Expedition in Foja Mounts in W. Papua. news.discovery.com/animals/new-species-discovered-in-new-guinea-110627.htmlGot 2 Delias specimens from this expedition.
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