[Nhcoll-l] dermestid colony slowing down

[Leslie L Skibinski]

Hi Nick,

If I remember correctly, In a previous job, we had a few times when our colony slowed down.  It was because we had very greasy/fat bird specimens.  I think that bison would be pretty lean, especially the mandibles.  Maybe there is not enough grease/fat or else the “meat” has dried out and is not appealing anymore.

--Leslie

Leslie L. Skibinski
Collection Manager

Paleontological Research Institution
1259 Trumansburg Road
Ithaca, New York  14850
Phone:  (607) 273-6623  ext. 128
Fax:  (607) 273-6620



From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Nick Cairns
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2023 10:39 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] dermestid colony slowing down

Morning everyone,
We're having an issue with our dermestid colony. Despite seemingly good temperature and humidity the colony is failing to process the modest amounts of material we are putting in with them. They've mostly been stripping bison mandibles for the last few months but seems to be consistently slowing down. We've tried warming them up and subdividing them but it's still slow.  Any advice or experience with this would be greatly appreciated.
Best,
Nick

Non-avian curator
Royal Alberta Museum
Edmonton Alberta, Canada
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