DERMESTES. LEATHER-CHAFFER . 
Generic Character. 
Antenrne clavatte, capitulo 
perfoliate: articulis tribus 
crassioribus. 
Thorax convexus, vix mar- 
ginatus. 
Caput sub thorace iiiflexum 
condens. 
Antemire clavated, with per- 
foliate tip, tlie three last 
joints being larger than 
the rest. 
Thorax convex, scarce or 
very slightly margined. 
Head withdrawn at pleasure 
beneath the thorax. 
This genus consists chiefly of small insects. 
Their larvm are found among skins, furs, and vari- 
ous animal substances, of a dry kind, which they 
gradually injure, and are numbered among the 
most destructive insects in Museums, devouring 
specimens of birds, quadrupeds, collections of 
dried plants, &c.: they are of a lengthenetl oval 
shape, and more or less haiiy, especially towards 
the end of the body, where, in some, the hairs 
form a kind of spreading tuft, which the animal 
raises on being suddenly disturbed. The complete 
insects are mostly of a lengthened oval sha})e, 
and have a habit of withdrawing the head be- 
neath the thorax when handled. One of the most 
familiar species is the Dermestes lardarius, which 
is about a third of an inch in length, and of a 
