The available species

Dermestidae are the family of skin beetles. Within this family, the beetles of the genus Dermestes are holometabolus xerophilous necrophages (or in easier words: both adults and larvae develop on the desiccated tissues of dead animals) and such a combination of characters distinguishes this group from all other insects! The biology of each species is important to know if you decide to keep these dermestid beetles for a certain purpose. It is best to keep the beetles in a similar temperature and humidity as the habitat of their distribution. Within this natural range of conditions, the general rule is: the warmer the temperature and the higher the humidity, the faster the beetles breed and eat. The threshold differs per species, but the adult beetles can gain the ability to fly at certain higher temperatures. Food need to be present at all times for the larvae, since they have a high metabolism and will die of starvation quickly.

Subgenus Dermestinus

(white-bellies)

Dermestes maculatus

Description: The adults are 5.5 to 10 mm long. The elytra are brownish to black and have, in contrary to D. frischii, a little sharp tip at the end. The underside of the adult beetles are mainly white with a black spot on the last segment of the abdomen. The shape of this spot is an identification key for this species. Full-grown larvae are 10 to 14 mm long. The larvae are dark-brown in colour and have a light-brown median stripe across their back.

Biology: Necrobiont, usually found on the carcasses of small animals. Exclusively synanthropic in the Palearctic region and apparently originates from Africa. The optimum temperature is in the range of 30-35°C and the minimum is 20°C. The upper temperature limit is 40°C. They can develop in humidities of at least 30% RH and their optimum is about 75% RH.

Distribution (GBIF, 2026):

Cosmopolitan

Dermestes frischii

Description: The adults are 6 to 10 mm long. The elytra are brownish to black and have, in contrary to Dermestes maculatus, rounded tips. The underside of the adult beetles are mainly white with a black spot on the last segment of the abdomen. The shape of this spot is an identification key for this species. Full-grown larvae are 10 to 14 mm long. The larvae are dark-brown in colour and have a light-brown median stripe across their back.

Biology: Neciobiont, with a preference for the carcasses of large animals. These beetles are relatively tolerant of salt and thus can be found on dead marine fish as well. They prefer a hot and dry summer and relatively humid winter. The optimum temperature is in the range of 30-35°C and the minimum is 20°C. The upper temperature limit is 40°C. They can develop in humidities of at least 30% RH and their optimum is about 75% RH.

Distribution (GBIF, 2026):

Nearly cosmopolitan

Dermestes undulatus

Description: The adults are 5 to 7 mm long. The head and thorax are speckled reddish brown and the elytra are speckled dark grey. The underside of the adult beetles are mainy white with a black spot at the end of the abdomen. The full-grown larvae are 8,5 to 10 mm long and almost entirely black in colour.

Biology: Necriobiont, with a preference for the carcasses of reptiles, amphibians, small birds and mammals. This species occurs in steppes and semi-deserts, and other grassy habitats including shorelines. The optimum temperature is in the range of 22-35°C and the minimum is 15°C. The upper temperature limit is 30°C. Their optimum RH is about 65%.

Distribution (GBIF, 2026):

Entire Holarctic Region

Dermestes murinus

Description: The adults are 7 to 9 mm long. The head, thorax and elytra are a mottled pattern of bluish grey. The underside of the adult beetles are light in colour, but not the typical white. The colour is best described as a pastel pink hue. The full-grown larvae are 10 to 12,5 mm long and almost entirely black in colour.

Biology: Necriobiont, with a preference for the carcasses of reptiles, amphibians, small birds and mammals. This species occurs in forests. Their optimum temperature, minimum temperature and upper temperature limit appears to be lower than Dermestes undulatus.

Distribution (GBIF, 2026):

Entire Palaearctic Region

Sound (stridulation) of this species:

Dermestes sardous

Description: The adults are 6 to 8 mm long. The pronotum and elytra are black, except for a two transverse swirls of yellow hairs on the pronotum, and the head is covered in yellow hairs. The underside of the adult beetles are mainy white with a black spot at the end of the abdomen. The full-grown larvae are yellowish in colour with some darker spots and have relatively long hairs.

Biology: Herpetobiont, found on both dead invertebrates and dead vertebrates. Introduced in California, USA.

Distribution (GBIF, 2026):

Circum-Mediterranean

Dermestes aurichalceus

Description: The adults are 5,5 to 7,5 mm long and their Latin name is derived from their copper colour. The head, thorax and elytra are a mottled pattern of brown and the underside is light brown in colour. The full-grown larvae are almost entirely black in colour and have relatively short hairs.

Biology: Larvae and adults are found inside the nests of pine processionary caterpillars, so this species is generally found in pine forests. Some state they have also been observed in the nests of oak processionary caterpillars. It feeds on the caterpillars inside the nests. The species is rarely observed due to its lifestyle.

Distribution (GBIF, 2026):

Mediterranean

Subgenus Dermestes

(black-bellies)

Dermestes lardarius

Description: The adults are 7 to 9,5 mm long. The elytra are black with a very recognizable orange band across them. There are three dark spots per elytron within the band. The underside of the adult beetles are dark coloured. Full-grown larvae are 10 to 15 mm long. The larvae are brown in color with light-brown bands deviating the different segments of the body.

Biology: This species can be found on carrion, in wasp nests and in bird nests, with a preference for bird nests in tree hollows. These beetles can also feed on plant material. The species most likely originate from Europe. The optimum temperature is 25°C or slightly higher and the minimum is about 15°C. The upper temperature limit is 30°C. They can develop in humidities of at least 40% RH and their optimum seems to near 80% RH.

Distribution (GBIF, 2026):

Cosmopolitan

Sound (stridulation) of this species:

Dermestes ater

Description: The adults are 7 to 9 mm long. Their dorsal side is dark brown to black. The underside of the adult beetles are brown and have medial and lateral dark brown spots on a lighter brown background. Full-grown larvae are 10 to 14 mm in length and almost entirely black in colour and have a light longitudinal beaded stripe, the biggest 'beads' on the anterior half of the body.

Biology: This species can be found on carrion and in bird nests. These beetles can eat a variety of animal and plant materials. This species is also very commonly found in the boxes of feeder crickets and dubia roaches from pet stores. It is an arboreal species that is capable of flight at low temperatures and it possibly originates from America. The optimum temperature is in the range of 27-30°C. The upper temperature limit seems to be close to 40°C. 

Distribution (GBIF, 2026):

Cosmopolitan

Sound (stridulation) of this species:

Dermestes haemorrhoidalis

Description: Adults are 6 to 9,5 mm long. The elytra are dark brown to black. The underside of the beetle or dark coloured and tend to have a golden shine to them due to a layer of satae (hair-like structure). Full-grown larvae are 10 to 15 mm long. The larvae are brown in color with light-brown bands deviating the different segments of the body.

Biology: This species can be found on carrion and in bird nests. These beetles can also feed on some plant materials including grains. It is originally an European species. The optimum temperature is in the range of 27-30°C and the minimum is 15°C. The upper temperature limit is lower than 40°C. They can develop in humidities of at least 40% RH and their optimum is about 75% RH.

Distribution (GBIF, 2026):

Nearly cosmopolitan

Sound (stridulation) of this species:

The genus Dermestes can be devided into subgenera. One being the subgenus Dermestinus, whom I dubbed the “white-bellies”. Another one being the subgenus Dermestes, whom I dubbed the “black-bellies”. The subgenus Dermesinus comprises the species which develop on carcasses lying on the soil surface and the subgenus Dermestes unites the forms living in bird nests, usually in the nests of bird of prey, feeding on the food remains and castings of the birds and dead nestlings (however, they cannot digest keratin). This is not a hard dividing line, since some white-bellied species can also sometimes be found in bird nests and the black-bellied species won't avoid carrion of they come across some. Adult Dermestinus tends to search for new food during the day, whereas adult Dermestes s. str. tends to search for new food during twilight and in the night.

Dermestinus can be further divided into two groups: necrobionts and herpetobionts. Species of the former group develop on the carcasses of vertebrates, and those of the latter group feed on dead bodies of invertebrates. The larvae of necrobionts won't leave the food source. If their food supply becomes short, they either die or will start to cannibalize in order to survive. Herpetobionts are adapted to food sources that quickly deplete, such as small dead insects, so their larvae will seek for new food while moving on the soil surface. The herpetobionts are more sensitive to humidity of the biotopes and rather xerophilous.

Dermestes s. str. can also be further divided into two groups: forest species that are mostly associated with birds nesting in hollows, and steppe and desert species that usually develop in the nests located in fissures of rocks and cliffs, and less frequently, on tree branches.

The species that eat the remains of larger animals (Dermestinus necrobionts) are more fit to beetle-clean skeletons, whereas the species that readily eat dead insects (Dermestinus herpetobionts and subgenus Dermestes) are better used as a clean-up crew.

The life cycle of dermestid beetles

Click on the images to see their caption:

Eggs are laid singly or in batches. The beetles often lay their eggs in small spaces near the food source, for example between the layers of cardboard. In these spaces the eggs are relatively save from turmoil within the colony. The eggs take around a few days to hatch. Thereafter, the larvae moult a few times to get bigger. A larva can be big enough to pupate after one or two months and you might notice that it starts wandering around in search for a save spot. They prefer to bore themselves into certain materials to pupate, like wood or styrofoam. In the absence of suitable hiding places, the larvae dig themselves into the soil before pupation. The pupal period is about a week. Once the adults emerge from the pupae, the female beetles will experience a so called ‘preoviposition period’. This means that they will not lay eggs immediately. It takes 5 or 6 days for the females to start laying eggs. Synthetic fur is also a suitable medium for oviposition. The adults are long-lived and the adult phase is longer than their larval phase.

Sex determination in adult beetles


It is quite easy to see the difference between male and female adult beetles. The male genetalia of a beetle appears as three small "threads" - the median lobe is in the middle with a paramere on each side. The male inserts only the tip of the median lobe into the female genital opening during mating and the parameres remain outside. The female genetalia may show as a broad extension - this is the genital pocket. Once the female beetle lays eggs, the ovipositor comes out. The ovipositor is of quite a length to lay the eggs in the depths of a safe space. 

The presence or absence of a tuft of fur on the abdomen of the beetles (visible as dots) are also a key feature to determine the sex, altough the number of tufts in males differ per species. In Dermestes maculatus, D. frischii and D. haemorrhoidalis, specimens with a tuft of fur / dot on their second to last segment of the abdomen are male (figure 1). In D. undulatus, D. murinus, D. sardous, D. aurichalceus, D. lardarius and D. ater, males have two tufts of fur / dots: one on their third to last segment and one on their second to last segment (figure 2). The beetles without a tuft of fur on the abdomen are female.

Figure 1:   A comparison between a male and female adult Dermestes frischii.

Figure 2:   A comparison between a male and a female Dermestes lardarius.

How to care for Dermestid beetles?

The basics of how to care for dermestid beetles are covered in a YouTube video called "How to: Care for dermestid beetles" uploaded by Dermestaria. Click on the red button to get redirected to the video.

Bibliography:

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  2. CICRP: Insectes du Patrimoine Culturel, Insectes dangereux pour les oevres patrimoniales. Dermestes undulatus Brahm, 1790. Link.

  3. Fontenot E.A., Arthur F.H. & Hartzer K.L. 2014: Oviposition of Dermestes maculatus DeGeer, the hide beetle, as affected by biological and environmental conditions. Journal of Stored Products Research 64(B): 154-159 p.

  4. Holloway G.J. 2023: A review of Dermestes Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) species on the British list. Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 159: 275–285. DOI:10.31184/M00138908.1594.4210

  5. Haines C.P. & Rees D.P. 1989: A field guide to the types of insects and mites infesting cured fish. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 303. FAO, Rome, 1989. 33 p.

  6. Herrmann A.: Dermestidae. Pictures of some Dermestid Species. Link.

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  8. Martín-Vega D., Díaz-Aranda L.M., Baz A. & Cifrián B. 2017: Effect of Temperature on the Survival and Development of Three Forensically Relevant Dermestes Species (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 54(5): 1140-1150 p. DOI:10.1093/jme/tjx110

  9. Robinson W.H. 2005: Urban insects and Arachnids. A Handbook of Urban Entomology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 472 p.

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  11. Zhantiev R. D. 1976: Жуки-кожееды (семейство Dermestidae) фауны СССР. [The skin eaters family Dermestidae of fauna of the USSR.] Moskva: Izdatelstvo Moskovskogo Universiteta, 180 p.

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