Dermestids
Classification
Grain feeders and scavengers; khapra beetle is a primary pest, remainder are secondary pests
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Dermestidae
Acronym: Various, depending on species
Description
- Larvae are distinctive in appearance. They are generally elongate and distinctively covered with a mixture of long and short setae (hairs).
Images
Common names
- Dermestid beetles, dermestids, black carpet beetles, hide beetles, larder beetles, glabrous cabinet beetle, ornate carpet beetle, warehouse beetles, European larger cabinet beetle, Khapra beetle
Scientific names
- Various. Including but not limited to: Attagenus unicolor, Dermestes lardarius, Trogoderma glabrum, Trogoderma granarium, Trogoderma inclusum, Trogoderma variabile, Trogoderma ornatum, Trogoderma versicolor
Similar species
- Many dermestids are confused for one another.
Commodities affected
- Scavenging species feed on a tremendous variety of material.
Signs of infestation
- Cast larval skins are the most common sign of infestation.
Damage
- Dermestids are generalist feeders and damage is not distinctive.
How to control
Geographic range
- Various according to species
Where found
- Are found in museums, elevators, warehouses, mills, food processing plants
- Trogoderma species are the most important species in storage situations
- Are also pests of households and structures (Dermestes spp., Attagenus spp.)
Life history
- Dermestidae is a very large family containing over 1000 described species.
- Other than Trogoderma, most species are mainly scavengers.
- Larvae are most commonly encountered in storage situations.
- Females generally lay eggs in cracks and crevices in the infested material.
- Shed larval skins are often found in infested material and may be mistaken for live larvae.
- Most species of Dermestidae breed better under conditions of moderate to high humidity, but khapra beetle is the opposite. It thrives in hot, dry grain.
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