BUYING FEEDER DERMESTID LARVAE

Are super low prices on dermestid beetle larvae a good deal?

Buying a starter colony of dermestids that are all larvae may be a good deal but if you need a growing colony that is producing larvae you will be waiting for quite a while. First, you must wait for the immature larvae to age to the pupa stage. This can take from 5 to 8 weeks depending on conditions. Then the pupa has to have time to transform...another 14 to 35 days ...again depending on conditions. Then the new adult has to reach the age of reproduction up to another 20 days or so.

We are talking about 2 to 4 months before your larvae start making bugs.

....that is a long time to wait. If you have all the time in the world it is good, if you want to clean skulls it sucks.

There may be another issue with some of these companies. They are raising these insects as feeder bugs not as specific insects for breeding.  
It appears that there might be a much higher potential for infestation of other unwelcome insects. Most of these companies do not specialize in just one type of dinner bug and in many cases some of the other types can be a huge problem for a colony of dermestids. 

I am betting that species contamination is much higher than in a business raising just dermestids for resale or users that are selling over flow.......Personally, I would be willing to pay more for a clean batch of bugs than take the chance......

REVIEWS FOR DERMESTID BEETLE BOOK

I love that Amazon provides a place for readers to review books that they have purchased.

 I have been very happy with the reviews of my DERMESTID BEETLES book.
They have given me reassurance that it will help others understand what the problems and provide the reasons why things happen..

If you are considering buying my book check out the reviews on my authors page> amazon.com/author/jalong

DERMESTID BEETLES DO NEED WATER

Do You Water Your Dermestid Colony?

Water and the bugs...there seems to be a lot of confusion on whether dermestids need water and if they do how often. Some say they get all the water that is needed from their food while others dutifully water them at various rates.

One thing, most seem to understand is that these little crawlies are living creatures and they do need some hydration ...beyond that there is a "they are doing great with what I am doing" attitude.

However, no one seems to know how to find out if they are thirsty. 

Guess what, it doesn't take a genius to find that out, 

All you need to do is water them by spritzing a paper towel and then come back in 10 minutes or so......If you find lots of bugs drinking then they need more water. 

One last point, if the colony is water shorted you will have less eggs laid and more eggs and pupae cannibalized.

There is always more room for improvement. If you raise these critters as if they were livestock and you will do much better.

 

DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR COLONY A TOOL?

Dermestids are tools that need care to do their jobs

It makes no difference why you are raising derrmestids but you do have to consider them a tool. They are providing you a way to clean skulls and bones. For some people having beetles it is a hobby for others it is a way to actually make a living. 

However, many people never seem to think that the critters need to have a modified environment. No dehumidifiers, no AC and bare bone basics with heat.   It seems remarkable that no more colonies are lost due to living in these types of conditions.

If they were not just 'bugs' but a real tool that required constant up keep and care to provide the owner a continuous service …the ‘’tool’ BUGS should be properly cared for. I find this attitude in caring for a dermestid colony remarkable. If the bugs were cattle, horses, or most any other livestock they would be worth taking the time and putting in the effort and money to enable the livestock to live healthy and productive lives but not derrmestids as it seems the basics is all they need. 

Too bad those with this attitude will never know what a truly productive colony is about.

HUNTING WILD DERMESTIDS - Good Idea?

The internet is full of inaccurate information about dermestid beetles.

Hi, by any chance do you remember my last blog post and the comments I made on poor information that is so prevalent on the internet regarding dermestid beetles. There is an article out that talks about starting a colony a colony of dermestid beetles from found wild bugs. The writer goes into the fact that dermestid beetles are pretty much everywhere in this country and you can generally find a few on most older carcasses that might be found in the wild.

Hunting wild dermestids that may have mites is not a good idea.

Those points are true then the article then goes on saying that sometimes dermestid beetles will be carrying mites and you should check inspect them to find out if they do have mites. It is also said that you shouldn’t keep those but if you can’t find any you might be able to remove the critters from the beetles. Good luck with that.

Now, let’s get to reality. First I really doubt you can hold a small bug while you lift its hard wings and then his soft wings and look for TINY little mites way back close to the joints. The fact is - about the only way to do this in the field is kill the beetle and hope your big old magnifying glass can let you see what you are looking for. That beetle you just killed will not do you any good even if it didn’t have mites because you killed it while looking.

This procedure can be done by professionals but they do it in a laboratory and anesthetize the bug then look at it under a good microscope.  You ask why a microscope, because all mites are not the same size! Some mite instars are so small that they look like a very small piece of dust. You can’t see legs or any identifying features with a small hand held magnifying glass on these sub adults.

After reading this the first time I laughed because it is not practical and would be a total waste of time. In other words, it just isn’t good information but it sounds great! I’m not saying that there isn’t a bug or two around that doesn’t have mites but those two types of animals live on the same food sources at the same times. So what are chances that you are going to find mite free bugs?

 It is way better to buy a started colony than chase around looking for something you are not going to be able to know for sure isn’t carrying a big problem.

It is best to purchase dermestid beetles form a reputable source.

The internet is full of this type of information so take what is written and what other people tell you with a grain of salt…or maybe two grains. In a lot of cases even so called experts and longtime uses don’t have a clue but they do have suppositions and opinions. 

Till next time, Happy bugging!

COUNTING DERMESTIDS - WAY TO MANY!

How Many Dermestids in a Colony?

Today I started cleaning large colony #2. In the past two days I have transferred about 600 ml of dermestids from old home to new, clean digs. I have been curious as to how many bugs that represented....

I measured out 50 ml of mixed sized insects and commenced to count.

To my surprise that was at a minimum of 650 larvae and adults. Considering, I did not count the very small bug kids, which there were lots, I must have a bunch of critters in that container.

 Right now that makes this colony about 7700 bugs. 

I am a long ways from having this transfer complete. The last colony I cleaned ended up providing me with almost a thousand young adults that were in pupation when the transfer of active insects was finished.  Not to bad for keeping a box around for a month before emptying it out. If you tried to buy adults only it would cost a pretty penny and these guys are YOUNG, at the start of their egg laying period.

I'm hoping for another bonus crop of these adults to start showing up in about a month. Maybe I'll sell a batch or two of adults only.

Washington State and Roadkill Laws Change.

Finished degreasing a number of skulls this past month. 

Most of these skulls were road kill salvage from Idaho. 

It is a good thing to be able to salvage game critters that are whacked by vehicles.
 Idaho seems to consider an animal that has to be left at the roadside a wasted resource. This past year we have gotten two animals that were warm dead. Which means they were food quality kills.
We hi-graded the best parts for us and the rest went to bug food and dog food. Life was good for everyone and two animals did not have to rot at the side of the road.

Washington has not been so enlightened in the past but come July is going to permit salvage of deer or elk. 

As a resident of Washington State since the 1970s I have watched this state's Game Department change to something that most rank and file hunters do not like. Administration grows and the real opportunities for the sportsman shrink.

There are the supposed added benefits of land purchases, drawings for quality hunts and landowner participation allowing hunting on private property. Many of these

Sportsmen benefits are simply smoke and mirrors...

everything is made to sound wonderful but in reality it doesn't work.

All to often, supposed private ground (included in hunt by permission) has been closed to everyone except specific family members or friends of the owners. Then we have the big blocks of property held by specific companies, these are allowed a very generous allotment of quality tags for allowing the public to hunt. Smoke again...access seems to go only to family or others that are deemed worthy, the common folk are shut out. Why? Our allotment of hunters have been met, yeah sure.

Then there is the purchase of permit applications, this idea is just to suck in the person who wants the opportunity to hunt an adult animal. I wonder just how many of us are stupid to continue to feed this one armed bandit.  Yep, this is a system that is working to keep the average person tied into buying tags and then the applications for those draws...big bucks to pay for Admin!

It is about time to go to the Governor and not so nicely suggest that politics should not play into managing our resources.

Then if that does not work it is about time to buy else where....and encourage
Washingtonians  use their sportsman dollars in another state that still wants the common people to hunt and recreate in their state.

This entire post has nothing to do with my bugs! This post is a rant against a system that is self perpetuating and geared to providing for the influential.

Dermestid Beetle Info - The Good & The Bad

Dermesid beetle information is found all over the internet but most of it is regurgitated information that is incomplete or in some cases doesn't even apply to the species that is commonly used for processing skulls.

If you took a look at the first page of a Google search you will find several informational sites with some information that is good but usually doesn't provide a new dermestid user enough knowledge to ensure success in raising a colony of beetles.

The vast majority of the non-educational sites are businesses that are selling beetles as a business which I may start doing too. A lot of the information provided by businesses is very general or incomplete and taken from other sites that are lacking in some of newer information that has not filtered into the industry.

The problem with good sales copy is issues tend to be down played. It is understandable why this happens but if one is new to raising these insects it can set the new owner up for failure. I trusted the person who sold me my bugs but I also have a science background and there was just not enough information to satisfy my curiosity.

You would expect any care sheet to cover enough possibilities and provide enough information to at least understand variables. However, that would  require a book length sheet....oh yea, that's exactly why I wrote the book. I couldn't find enough sound information on dermesteds so I went digging for more and better information. That is when my colony of beetles started exploding, I used this information in my hobby.

So now I'm selling something and that is information - giving people answers and hopefully
a better understanding on life-cycles and how to manipulate the insects environment for your benefit.   DERMESTID BEETLES: Successfully  Raising Dermestes maculatus And Avoiding Common Problems is available and sold on Amazon.com the url to my author's page is   http://www.amazon.com/J…/e/B016SNEG84/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1…

Happy bugging

NEW SKULL TO CLEAN

Hubby's deer skull is out of the freezer, defleshed and waiting for degreasing

 We didn't get any pictures of this buck before he went into the box. He is a typical sized 3 pointer with small brow tines as well an extra  small dropper on one side. Symmetrical  with good highth and width. In another couple of years he would have been truly impressive.

I had to utilize my ventilated box as a lid because the horns were too high for the 96 quart box. With this set up I could do a much larger head without any problem and have it well ventilated.

I am fascinated by the beautiful structure of the the bone and the elegant sweep of the horns. It will be appreciated for years and I continue to learn the skills of this form of taxidermy.

Considering using bio-degradable degreaser rather than the detergent/water method. Something new to try and evaluate.

I'll follow up on how things went and maybe post photos!

SKULL CLEANING - CHANGING FOR BETTER OR WORSE

Processing skulls is changing - finding a cost effective way.

I have spent endless hours reading forum posts, traveled millions of internet miles searching for useful information on skull cleaning, degreasing and bleaching. In the process I have watched a pattern develop and wonder if it is progress or a step back in skull preservation.

Today many professional taxidermists as well as the small technicians are looking at faster ways to clean skulls and stronger chemicals are being used to get the job done in less time.

Fixatives and polymers can stabilize damaged skulls

Along with the drive for faster production the use of fixatives is becoming more common place.  I suspect that this is to prevent the appearance of surface damage and to provide structure support for the skulls.

Personally, I am ambivalent regarding this trend. I feel that quality of a product should not depend on money but in this case the buyer may have no clue because on the surface the mount looks good. The craftsman has to find a way of remaining in business while making a profit and providing a service with value.

 Does a good looking skull that is glued and stabilized with polymers qualify as quality? Maybe?

Beetles, Bones and art

Beetles, skulls and bones - Art and Jewelry? YES!!

Most of my posts have been about beetles and taxidermy but beetles doesn't have to be about euro style mounts.

Dermestids can be about cleaning bones and skulls to make jewlery and art.

I'm not talking about clunky, grotesque things but beautiful pieces that look like carved ivory. 

Bones can be carved into bold bracelets and necklaces or into small delicate charms.

 Full skulls can be painted or etched to become artwork that is absolutely stunning.  Please visit Etsey or check out Pinterest page Dermestid Beetles - To bare bones. I have been finding items and ideas that appeal to the artist in me and I think many others would love them. 

Having a small colony of dermestids would allow a budding bone artist to clean their own bones or skulls. 

New year, same old me and lots of flesh eating beetles!

New year, new things to do and enjoy also I've started a new DIY manual. More that as time goes on.  The first one proved I can do it. Next one will just be frosting on the cake.

Sooo, This past year my bug world has produced a number of nice skulls most waiting for my attention.  They all need to be degreased and then I will decide what to do with them.

The artist in me is already seeing carved or painted skulls.

I also wished I had kept some flat bones and long bones from the rode kill deer we got this last summer. They would have made great beads or flat pieces to paint or carve.

If one takes up a hobby like this you need lots of stuff...like another freezer for the over flow. Because we fixed that problem I can continue looking for those great dead things to reduce to their simplest form.

More on the bugs, my plans for 2016 later.

HUMIDITY ISSUES IN A DERMESTID COLONY

Humidity and its affect on a beetle colony

The atmosphere moisture within a dermestid colony can present health issues for the clean up crew. First off the bugs do very well in high humidity ranges but if there is not enough air moving through out the container, problems such as mold establishing itself in the substrate is possible  When I say air movement I am not talking bathroom fan creating a miniature wind storm drying eggs, small larvae as well as any head to be cleaned. 

Ventilation of a dermestid colony is simple,  enough air to control humidity and odors and no more.   

Most have no idea how to figure out how to accomplish the simple so if a little is good then a whole lot more must be great.  Not....

The dermestid beetle book spells out how to provide just the right air movement.

Visit http://dermestidbeetles.info