230 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Family DBRMBSTIDiE. 



Oblong, stout, or short and chunky, heavily built beetles with short weak 

 legs, that may be very closely folded to the body. Covered with flattened hair 

 or scales, usually black and white mottled ; but sometimes with red, brown and 

 yellow scales. The larvse are 

 elongate hairy creatures with 

 tufts of bristles at the tip of 

 the abdomen, or bunches of 

 hair that may be erected or 

 spread out. They feed in all 

 stages on stored animal and 

 vegetable products and in- 

 clude the "larder beetles," 

 "leather beetles," "museum 

 beetles " and " carpet beetles." 

 They are, therefore, decidedly 

 injurious, though they do not 

 attack growing vegetation (ex- 

 cept Byturus). Protection is 

 gained by preventive meas- 

 ures, either in making access 

 impossible to the beetles or by using repellants like camphor or naphthaline. 



Fig. 91. — The leather beetle, Dermestes vulpinus: a, larva 

 from above and side ; h, pupa ; k, adult ; enlarged : 

 other figures refer to structural details of larva. 



the 



BYTURUS Latr. 



B. unicolor Say. Hudson Co. (LI), Newark, Milburn, VI, 12 (Bf), g. d. (Li), 

 Staten Island ; adult in flowers, larvae in fruit of raspberries chiefly, a 

 whitish maggot. It is the exception to the family rule in habit and 

 appearance. 



DERMESTES Linn. 



D. caninus Germ. Throughout the State, V, VII, IX ; under carcasses, some- 

 times rather common. 



D. lardarius Linn. The "larder beetle," common throughout the State, 

 often in houses on stored provisions. Remedial measures are to kill the 

 larvse and beetles when seen, screen the food and, where they are bad, 

 leave some out as a trap. 



D. vulpinus Fabr. Throughout the State, under old bones and dried car- 

 casses ; also in skins and leather, sometimes damaging the manufactured 

 product : bisulphide of carbon and gasoline should be used so far as pos- 

 sible. 



D. frischii Kug. Seashore, not rare (Li) ; Brigantine beach, IX, abundant 

 (Hn). 



ATTAGENUS Latr. 



A. piceus Oliv. Throughout the State, common : the black carpet beetle. 

 "In addition to the injuries it causes to carpets and woolens, it attacks 



