310 
COLEOPTERA. 
Dermestid^e. 
Tarsi with five-joints ; antennce short with a club , and received under 
the prothorax in a cavity. Head retractile. 
These small beetles are not readily separated from those which 
come nearest to them unless the life-history is known, the commonest 
species, which are household pests, having 
characteristic larvae. The beetles are often 
clothed with fine hair or scales. The head 
in some bears a median ocellus. The api¬ 
cal joint of the antennae in the males may 
become enlarged. 
The life-history is known in general but of 
no Indian species except the household ones. 
The larvae are predaceous or feed upon dried 
animal matter. The free-living larvae are 
found under the bark of trees and in similar 
situations where there is a quantity of 
insect larvae on which they can feed. House¬ 
hold species feed upon skins, horns, wool 
and similar dried animal matter. The larvae are characterised by the 
development of tufts of long hairs (Plate XVIII), which in some cases 
reaches an extraordinary development, especially in the predaceous 
free-living species. The reader should consult the figure in Sharp’s 
Insects for a typical free-living Dermestid larva, such as is found under 
the bark of trees. Other larvae are provided with*small terminal and 
lateral tufts of hairs, capable of being moved and extended. These 
larvae eat into their food, making holes in skins or horns and complet¬ 
ing their metamorphosis there. The length of the life-history is not 
known but it can be very greatly extended in every stage, if food is 
scarce. It is known that the eggs are capable of remaining unhatched 
for long periods, that larvae will starve and that the pupal stage may 
be a very long one. The pupa is commonly found almost wholly 
enveloped by the larval skin which is not shed but only splits along the 
dorsum. Several household species are likely to be found, having been 
recorded several times ; these are cosmopolitan insects spread by 
L.- 
Fig. 190.— Dermestes vul- 
pinus F. x 4i. 
commerce. 
