Obtaining Osteological Material Using Dermestes maculatus De Geer, 1774 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) in Veterinary Anatomy

Abstract

Dermestid beetles being low-cost, efficient, and environmentally friendly are commonly used to prepare osteological materials in museums. This study was carried out to produce osteological material from the heads of roe deer, cows, and cats using a Dermestes maculatus (De Geer, 1774) colony and reveal the colony's meat consumption performance in terms of time. In addition, using hydrogen peroxide solution to kill remaining beetles in the cleaned osteological material and determine the whitening and degreasing efficiency of this solution was also aimed. In the study, approximately 10,000 Dermestes maculatus , along with the heads of six roe deer, three cows, and three cats were used. To observe the meat -cleaning performance, the initial and final weights of the heads were measured before they were placed in the beetle colony. All tissues, including eye and brain tissues, of the heads placed in the Dermestes colony were cleaned in one day in cats, two days in roe deer, and three days in cows. In addition, it was observed that the Dermestes colony was not a preference priority when consuming soft tissues such as eyes, brain and muscle. This current manuscript has revealed the advantages of the hydrogen peroxide application in whitening and degreasing bone materials and killing remaining beetles at the end of the process on skull materials cleaned by Dermestes beetles.