Insects · Coleoptera · Dermestidae

Larder Beetle

Dermestes lardarius

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

The larder beetle — known in Spanish as escarabajo de las despensas — is a beetle of the family Dermestidae. It is found worldwide. It is a common pest of homes and storage facilities across much of the world. It eats products of animal origin, such as dried meat and fish, pet food, hides and leather, feathers, cheese and museum specimens such as pinned insects. It can also eat plant material with a high protein content, such as cereals.

Size

7 cm – 9 cm

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

Temperate forestCarnivore Solitary Insect Temperate forest

6countries

Fun facts

Dermestid beetles are used routinely in natural history museums to clean skeletons: a colony leaves the bones immaculate without damaging them, something no chemical method matches.
In forensic entomology its appearance marks a late stage of decomposition, once the body has dried out, and helps estimate the time elapsed.
Its hairy larvae can bore through lead and insulation to excavate the chamber in which to turn into adults.
Its name comes from the larder: it feeds on cured meats, hides, feathers, hair and wool stained with blood or sweat.
That same voracity makes it useful: museums and taxidermists use dermestid beetles to clean the last tissue off skeletons, and call them the museum's volunteers.
It is a valuable indicator in forensic entomology, because its appearance on a body narrows down the date of death.
The larva, longer than the adult and very hairy, carries two backward-curving spines on its last segment and bores into wood, cork or plaster to pupate, which adds structural damage.

Life cycle & biology

Habitat & environment: Larders, stores, nests and dried carcasses
Gestation / incubation: The eggs hatch in about two weeks and the larval stage lasts from 15 to 80 days
Litter / clutch size: Hundreds of eggs per female

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermestes_lardarius