[NHCOLL-L:4956] RE: Dermestid cleaning of fish skeletons?

[Thomas Labedz]

Kirsten

 

Several other factors need to be taken into account.  The size, maturity,
and environmental condition of the dermestid colony all come into play in
determining the speed of the work in cleaning skeletons.  The same colony
can take hours, weeks, or sometime in between to complete a job.  A large
colony that is concentrated and has nothing else to feed on will work
faster.  A mature colony, that is having large numbers of all stages of
larval development, will work faster and more efficiently.  And a colony
kept in appropriate conditions will work better than one that isn't.  

 

Another factor is staff care of the colony.  A well maintained colony will
produce better results faster than one that is just left to go and checked
periodically.  And, especially with fish or other oily specimens there is
time and work to clean and degrease the specimen after coming out of the
dermestid colony.   

 

Looking forward to hearing about your efforts to speed the process.

 

Thomas E. Labedz, Collections Manager

Division of Zoology and Division of Botany

University of Nebraska State Museum

W-436 Nebraska Hall

900 N. 16th St.

Lincoln, NE  68588-0514

402/472-8366   fax 402/472-8949

tlabedz1 at unl.edu   www.museum.unl.edu <http://www.museum.unl.edu/> 

 

 

  _____  

From: owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu [mailto:owner-nhcoll-l at lists.yale.edu]
On Behalf Of Kirsten Nicholson
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2010 8:10 AM
To: NHCOLL-L at lists.yale.edu
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:4955] Dermestid cleaning of fish skeletons?

 

How long does it normally take for dermestids to clean fish skeletons?  I'm
attempting to publish an article on a technique that I experimented with to
speed this process.  An article by Bemis et al (2004) lends the impression
that fish preparation with his proposed method of first drying the fish
(after skinning and removing internal organs, large muscle masses and
fascia) can take up to months.  I emailed Bemis with no response, and mind
you, I'm a herpetologist, with little experience making fish skeletons.  So
I'm wondering if I'm misinterpreting their article, or if in fact it can
sometimes take a very long time to prep a fish skeleton with dermestids?  I
recognize it may depend on the size of the fish, but for us it didn't take
very long at all (hours).

 

Thanks for any info you can pass on!

 

Kirsten

-- 
Kirsten E. Nicholson, Ph.D

Asst. Prof. Biology          
Dept. of Biology             
217 Brooks Hall               
Central Michigan Univ.   
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859                  
989-774-3758            

and

Curator of Natural History
Museum of Cultural and Natural History
103 Rowe Hall
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859
989-774-3829

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