Bacon beetle

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Bacon beetle
Common bacon beetle (Dermestes lardarius)

Common bacon beetle ( Dermestes lardarius )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Partial order : Bostrichiformia
Superfamily : Bostrichoidea
Family : Bacon beetle
Scientific name
Dermestidae
Latreille , 1804

The bacon beetles (Dermestidae) are a family of beetles that has around 1300 species in 50 genera worldwide . In Europe there are 144 species from 18 genera, of which 68 species live in Central Europe .

features

The beetles are 1 to 10 millimeters long and usually have a compact and round-oval body. Outwardly, they differ greatly within the individual genera. Mostly they have a brown or black basic color, which in some species is supplemented with red, brown or yellow spots or with a colored band or spot markings on the wings formed by scales or hair . Their upper side is either smooth, scaly or hairy. The number of segments of its antennae varies greatly between 5 and 11, as does the shape, which is usually club-shaped or straight at the end. The club consists of 3 to 8 links. Their shape is more pronounced especially in the males; in the genus Thaumaglossa the clubs reach a proportionally extreme size. In some species the antennae are also comb-shaped. Their legs each have five tarsal links . Except for the species of the subfamily Dermestinae , all species have a point eye ( ocellus ) in addition to compound eyes .

The larvae are elongated and densely provided with bristly tufts of hair. Some species also have defense hair .

Occurrence

The bacon beetles are found all over the world and are found in a wide variety of habitats. Some species live together with their larvae in the litter, others are pure flower visitors or scavengers ( Dermestes ). The genus Anthrenus z. B. is found near roads and rubble sites, these species are also feared pests in collections of prepared animals, as they feed on dry organic matter. The genus Thaumaglossa lives exclusively on the clutches of Mantis and Trogoderma is a plague in grain farming. Other species specialize in the nests of mammals , birds , bees, or wasps . A number of species were carried away by humans and are now distributed worldwide.

Way of life

Woolwort flower beetle larva ( Anthrenus verbasci )

Some of the beetles are diurnal and some are nocturnal . Most are scavengers and eat dead, dried animals and insect remains , even in houses and apartments. But there are also some that eat plant parts and pollen . The beetles can cause significant damage to woolen fabrics, hides, and insect and animal collections. They are also used specifically by museums (especially Dermestes maculatus ) to clean animal skeletons from soft tissues.

The adults of some species are noticeable by their deadly reflex : in the event of a disturbance, they simply let themselves fall and put on feelers and legs.

To pupate, some species (e.g. Dermestes ) also drill tunnels into hard materials, which can cause great damage to commercial goods. Pupation takes place within the last pupal shell. Depending on the species, one or more generations are produced each year. Some species, especially the culture followers, can produce generations in the vicinity of humans even in the cold season.

Fossil evidence

The oldest indirect fossil record of bacon beetles was made in 2008 on the bones of the 155.7 to 150.8 million year old dinosaur Camptosaurus . The trace fossils on the bone substance show the feeding activities of the beetles both on the surface and inside the bone, which is crisscrossed by drill holes filled with excreted bone material. Imprints of the mandibles and the characteristic feeding pattern point to bacon beetles as the cause of the traces. In addition, representatives of this family are known from various amber deposits. The oldest evidence in amber - until the discovery of the aforementioned fossil, the oldest evidence of this beetle family at all - was found in amber from the Lower Cretaceous Lebanon (about 130 million years old). Representatives of different genera of this family are known from the Eocene Baltic amber (40 to 50 million years old). Bacon beetles have also been found in amber deposits from Burma and Mexico as well as in Dominican amber (of all tertiary ages).

Types (selection)

Cabbage flower beetle ( Anthrenus verbasci )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andreas Herrmann: General information on the Dermestidae family . Dermestidae.com, accessed June 16, 2017
  2. ↑ Dermestidae . Fauna Europaea, accessed June 16, 2017
  3. ↑ Brooks B. Britt; Rodney D. Scheetz; Anne Dangerfield (2008): "A Suite of Dermestid Beetle Traces on Dinosaur Bone from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Wyoming, USA". Ichnos , Volume 15, Issue 2 April 2008, pages 59 - 71 - doi : 10.1080 / 10420940701193284 ( abstract )
  4. ↑ George O. Poinar, Jr .: Life in Amber . 350 pp., 147 figs., 10 plates, Stanford University Press, Stanford (Cal.) 1992. ISBN 0-8047-2001-0

literature

  • Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe. Parey, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1

Web links

Commons : Bacon Beetle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files