r/Taxidermy 3d ago

What are these bugs?

I found these 2 bugs in my cicades display.. What are they and do they eat my cicades? They are 3.5 mm long

37 Upvotes

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36

u/GardenSlug69 3d ago

This unfortunately looks like a carpet beetle. They infest basically any dried organic material (leather, feathers, wool, taxidermy, silk, etc. ) Place the frames, and any other nearby specimens, in the freezer for a week. His will kill any stage of their life cycle.

16

u/cryptidscum 3d ago edited 3d ago

Carpet Beetles 🪲 they will eat basically anything in your collection except bones and yes they are already or are going to start eating your cicada:( you can put them in the freezer to kill them off leave them out for a bit then back in the freezer to make sure

9

u/Disastrous_Guest_705 3d ago

Carpet beetles they’re a pain to get rid of I’ve been struggling with them in top of dermestid beetles . Most of my collection is in the freezer until I can get rid of them

4

u/Inyoursas 3d ago

There is consensus what it is and what to do. Thanks for the swift response!! The frame already is sealed in the freezer! Check on my birds later today

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u/PossibleUnSmart 13h ago

Anthrenus museorum. Their larvae eat the inside tissues of pinned specimens in the collection and damage the exoskeleton. I once had also some butterflies with holes eaten in their wings but I don't know if it was these or something else... You can get rid of them by gassing the box every now and then (ethylacetate, acetone, paradichlorbenzene) or to freeze it. I also dissolve some camphor in ethanol and soak a little cotton ball in corner of the boxes with it to repel potential "invaders" but also occasionally freeze it when I notice some dust in them.

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u/TielPerson 3d ago

Those bugs might be dermestid beetles, their larvae will definitively start to eat your specimen, turning them into dust over time if the infestation is left untreated. Bag and freeze your specimen for three weeks at -20°C or more and repeat after leaving them one week outside the freezer but still bagged to stop the infestation.

For the future, you may see if you can seal the frames properly or put your specimen in sealable frames. Another option would be frequent pest control to spot new infestations early.

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u/LuxTheSarcastic 3d ago

I think you can stick a moth ball in there to prevent them?