Today I wanted to take a break from looking back at insects of 2014 and address an insect that I am often asked about.
As we played with our babies at a mom group, a friend of mine wanted to know what the small insects she found in her bathroom were. She gave me a description and I guessed they might be beetles in the family Dermestidae or 'carpet' beetles. The small woolly larvae feed on organic matter such as hair and unfortunately that includes wool clothing. They and the adult tiny brown beetles are fairly ubiquitous in homes. Another friend recently asked what may have eaten the dead beetle specimen she was saving on a windowsill. Dermestids also eat dead insects. It's a good thing they do, or else we'd have a lot more dead bugs hanging around! But if you want to save the insects you find you'll have to take steps to keep the carpet beetles out.
A larval Dermestid beetle, probably Anthrenus verbasci. They are only a few millimeters long, about half the size of a grain of rice.
For entomologists, these beetles can be a serious threat to collections. Special effort is taken to protect collections by use of special drawers with tight fitting lids and use of insecticides. At the museum I worked in during grad school we had a "fumigation cabinet" where any new insects to be added to the collection would spend time in a chemical cloud to eliminate any hitchhikers from infesting the whole collection. Another way to treat insect collections at home is to freeze them and then place them in a tight fitting container made of plastic or wood. Adding a few moth balls can't hurt if you live in a moist climate where mites and other tinier arthropods can squeeze in.
A collection of Osmia bees is stored safely in a drawer within a cabinet to prevent Dermestid infestation.
Also in grad school I took part in a project that aimed to share the tools and processes of insect collection via instructional videos. These 'how to" videos show viewers how to collect, process and curate their own insect collections. We wrote scripts and filmed and edited these videos and published them online. It was a lot if fun and hopefully useful to aspiring insect collectors out there. In some of these videos you'll get to see me (well, my hands) collect beetles, dig holes and pin insects! If you'd like to view them, they can be found here:
No comments:
Post a Comment