Hide or leather beetle Dermestes maculatus
Adult beetle
Size: 10mm or over
Shape: Oval
Colour: shiny black with white hairs on thorax
Antennae: short, 3 segmented club
Distinguishing features: underside covered in patches of white hairs
Adults eat: very little
Larvae are pests of: dried animal protein, rare in houses and museums.Sometimes used in Natural History Museums to clean skeletons.
Damage is: occasionally tunnels for pupation
Often found: associated with dead rodents and birds in houses. It is also a pest in chicken houses, where it lives in the manure.
Size: 10mm or over
Shape: Oval
Colour: shiny black with white hairs on thorax
Antennae: short, 3 segmented club
Distinguishing features: underside covered in patches of white hairs
Adults eat: very little
Larvae are pests of: dried animal protein, rare in houses and museums.Sometimes used in Natural History Museums to clean skeletons.
Damage is: occasionally tunnels for pupation
Often found: associated with dead rodents and birds in houses. It is also a pest in chicken houses, where it lives in the manure.
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Hide or leather beetle Dermestes maculatus
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