File: <DERME1.IMA>

Immature Stages of Dermestidae

Detailed information on immature stages of Dermestidae is being acquired. However, Clausen (1940) noted that the larvae of several species of Thaumaglossa have been found feeding in mantid egg cases in Texas and South Africa, and in Japan a high percentage of those of Tenodera sinensis Sauss. were found infested with an undetermined species. A considerable number of larvae may be found in each case, and the entire contents are usually consumed before the end of the incubation period, which takes at least 6 months. In some parts of Europe and North Africa, Dermestes, Trogoderma, and Attagenus are reported as predators on eggs of gypsy moth and other Lepidoptera having similar egg masses, and several species of Dermestes infest the cocoons of silkworms in Europe and Asia.