Bone-cleaning
Guides
Dermestes
skin beetles, hide beetles, larder beetles
Dermestes is a globally distributed genus of beetles in the family Dermestidae, comprising approximately 92 species. These beetles are specialized scavengers of dead and dried animal material, with larvae feeding on carrion, dried meat and fish, bone, hair, skin, and feathers. The genus has significant economic and forensic importance: larvae are destructive pests of museum specimens and stored products, yet are also deliberately employed to clean flesh from skeletons in taxidermy and forensic contexts. Some species assist in estimating postmortem intervals in criminal investigations.
Trogidae
hide beetles, keratin beetles, skin beetles
Trogidae is a family of scarabaeoid beetles commonly known as hide beetles or keratin beetles. The family contains approximately 300 species in four or five genera, distributed worldwide. Members are characterized by a distinctive rough, warty, or bumpy exoskeleton and are specialized scavengers of dried animal remains, feeding on skin, feathers, fur, and connective tissue. They are among the last insects to colonize carcasses, appearing only after decomposition has advanced to the dry remains stage. The family's taxonomic placement remains debated, with some authorities treating it as a subfamily (Troginae) within Scarabaeidae.