Common bacon beetle

Dermestes Lardarius

The common bacon beetle is 7 to 9.5 millimetres long and has an elongated, oval, completely scaled body. They are found all over the world and are cultivated beetles. They can be found from the lowlands to high altitudes that are still inhabited by humans. They live almost exclusively in human settlements. The female lays 100-200 eggs on food materials and under favorable conditions up to 6 generations per year are produced. Beetles and larvae can temporarily tolerate low temperatures. An infestation is usually recognized by the hairy, lost larval skins. The gregarious larvae destroy hides and leather by scraping and pitting from the inside, occasionally also wool textiles. Damage is also caused by the larvae boring into goods such as tobacco bales, thread reels, cork, soft wood, asbestos, etc. to pupate.