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<p class="MsoNormal">Hello all,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was wondering if any of you could provide insight into Dermestes maculatus, the hide beetle. I just read a paper (Strang & Jacobs 2019) stating that D. maculatus was not able to live outside the colony (at the Smithsonian) due to ‘humidity
and other requirements’, but sadly there wasn’t a citation. Likewise, I have seen dermestid colonies housed inside collection buildings (such as at the Field Museum), apparently with no threat to the skin collections also housed nearby. I have not been able
to pin point down why hide beetles wouldn’t be a threat to museum specimens, but I would love to hear any experiences with them or thoughts on what their infestation risk is to collections. They certainly can eat a lot when they get going! I would love it
if I didn’t have to feel a slight sense of existential dread every time I put a newly created skeleton specimen away (thoroughly cleaned and decontaminated, but still…).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cheers,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tonya<o:p></o:p></p>
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