[Nhcoll-l] Providing water to dermestids

[Thomas Labedz]

Tonya

I ran what I'd consider a very efficient dermestid colony in our prep room for over 30 years. I never had a water source in the container with dermestids. I relied on not quite totally dry tissue for them, using that moisture to attract them to feed (and drink). When things got too dry to feed efficiently I'd apply drops of water to the area of the tissue in need of further chewing. If what I was wanting them to prep was too dry I'd soak the carcass and then er-dry it to my satisfaction before tossing it in. If things get too damp or humid in the dermestid colony you run the risk of molds, fungi, fecal material and shed exoskeletons composting, attracting drain flies, cockroaches, or other unwanted pests to the dermestid colony.

Thomas

PS - Consider wearing a dust mask when working with the colony. Myself, and others, have developed sensitivity to the colony dust.


Thomas E. Labedz, Collections Manager

Division of Zoology and Division of Botany

University of Nebraska State Museum

Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.A.


________________________________
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Tonya.Haff at csiro.au <Tonya.Haff at csiro.au>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2019 3:43 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Providing water to dermestids


Hello all,



I have a question about looking after a dermestid colony. We have one going along happily at the moment, but we haven’t had them for more than a month or two. We place each small carcass we feed them in a takeaway container, to keep specimens separate. Right now we’re providing the dermestids with water by giving them cotton wool soaked in water, placed in large bottle caps, which we place in the takeaway container next to the skeleton. This means the larvae don’t have to go far to look for something to drink (come to think of it though I’m not sure if it’s the larvae or the adults that need to drink, or both). However, these small water supplies also dry out quickly. I’d like to instead have a larger water source, something like a chick water dispenser with cotton wool at the bottom, in the corner of the colony (which is smaller than 1m x 1m), but I’m not sure if this would be detrimental to the larvae. In a nutshell, I guess I’m asking how far a water source for dermestids needs to be from their food source for them to be happy and efficient. Thanks for your thoughts!



Cheers,



Tonya





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Dr Tonya Haff

Collections Manager

Australian National Wildlife Collection

National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO

Canberra, Australia

Phone: (+61) 02 6242 1566 (office)

(+61) 0419 569 109 (mobile)



I am in Thursdays and Fridays

Please call or text my mobile for a fast reponse Monday – Wednesday


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