Dermestes lardarius is a species of beetle

Beetle

Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...

 found in the Palearctic

Palearctic

The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth's surface.Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone...

 (including Europe

Europe

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), and the Near East

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. In Europe, it is known from Albania

Albania

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, Austria

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, Belgium

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, Bosnia and Herzegovina

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, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

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, Canada

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, Croatia

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, the Czech Republic

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, mainland Denmark

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, Estonia

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, the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

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, Finland

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, Germany

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, Iceland

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, Kaliningrad

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, Latvia

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, Liechtenstein

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, Lithuania

Lithuania

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, Luxembourg

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, mainland Norway

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, Poland

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, Russia

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, Sardinia

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, Slovakia

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, Slovenia

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, Sweden

Sweden

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, the Netherlands

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, Ukraine

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, and Yugoslavia

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Dermestes Lardarius is a common pest in homes around the world [excluding the polar regions]. They are used by taxidermists to clean skeletons but are also a commonly used feeder in the hexapoda hobby. These beetles are known to eat keratin

Keratin

Keratin refers to a family of fibrous structural proteins. Keratin is the key of structural material making up the outer layer of human skin. It is also the key structural component of hair and nails...

, a hard substance found in bones and nails of animals. These beetles are close relatives to the carpet beetle and as such are a common pantry pest in homes around Canada and the USA.

Care In captivity

Larder beetles are an easy dermestid to breed and culture. They only need four main things to thrive: food, moisture, hides and darkness. Food is relatively easy as they eat almost anything. Common foods are: pet food, fish food and sometimes meat prepared to jerky consistency. Moisture can be provided with a moist paper towel. Hides can be toilet paper rolls, egg crates/cartons and cotton. To provide extra darkness just place the enclosure (which must be hard plastic or glass) in a dark warm closet. Maintenance is as easy as keeping mold. All you need is to clean out the enclosure once every six months or so.

External links

• Dermestes lardarius at Fauna Europaea