[NHCOLL-L:743] Dermestid question

[Dan Brooks]

Greetings all,
We have some extrememly old African Antelope skulls from a collecting
expedition that took place in 1959.  The skulls were basically mummified,
and we are in the process of cleaning them properly (albeit many years
later!).
The problem is, in some cases the dermestids like chewing the horns more
than the mummified flesh off the skulls!  We have tried wrapping the horns
in celophane, but the dermestids even chew the wrapping over the mummified
flesh.
Has anyone encountered this problem before, and if so, how did you handle it?
Thanks and best wishes,
Dan Brooks

________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel M. Brooks, Ph.D.
Curator of Vertebrate Zoology
Houston Museum of Natural Science
One Hermann Circle Drive
Houston, TX  77030-1799

Telephone: 713-639-4776
E-mail: dbrooks at hmns.org