Hagen.] 56 [October 23, 
Section of Entomology. Oct. 23, 1878. 
Mr. S. H. Scudder in the chair. Seven persons present. 
The following papers were read : 
Museum PESTS OBSERVED IN THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COLLECTION 
AT CAMBRIDGE. By Dr. H. A. HAGEn. 
Ever since I have been working at the Museum in Cambridge, I 
have given especial attention to the Museum Pests destroying insects 
in the collection. Perhaps a notice of the species observed by me 
may be of interest. 
The largest number of these injurious insects belongs to the family 
of Dermestide, five species of which I have noticed, three of them 
very destructive. 
Dermestes lardarius was very abundant in my first work room, but 
is large enough to be easily detected, and did harm only in the first 
months. The number of skeletons of animals not cleaned and pre- 
pared was then very large, and actually swarmed with this larva in 
the attic rooms. I remember that on an unusually warm day in 
November, I saw the southern brick wall speckled with black spots, 
and going nearer, I was astonished that all were living beetles of 
D. lardarius. I have never since seen such a number of beetles 
together. Of course they could not be prevented from entering 
the work rooms through open windows, and I had for months a 
rather hard struggle with them. I decided to trap them with some 
old cheese put in a draw, and by killing the newly arrived two or 
three times in the day, I found out that they disliked the inhospita- 
ble reception. In the following years the skeletons were prepared, 
and for many years I have seen none of this species within the 
collection nor in the work room. Among the new collections added 
only one was thoroughly infested with D. lardarius. The species is 
easily recognized by the larger granulous jet black excrements of 
the larva; therefore it cannot exist to any extent in a well kept col- 
lection. But, as with Anthrenus, these excrements are soon trans- 
formed into powder by Psoci, if they are in the boxes. As Pastor 
Goeze remarked long ago, these live on excrements. 
Much more dangerous and very frequent is the larva of Attage- 
nus megatoma. During late years this insect has propagated to a 
fearful extent in many houses in Cambridge, and, as I believe, does 
