Dermestid Beetles - Starter Colony or Dubia Cleaner Crews - For Sale

These are quality Dermestid beetles and larvae, professionally bred and raised in clean, isolated, disease and pest-free colonies.

Quantities are estimated, and we aim to overstock each order at least 10%. We ship our Dermestids in substrate and frass, so there should be some eggs in addition to beetles and larvae.

We take great care in raising quality insects. As a rule, our Dermestids are very robust and healthy.

Also known as Dermestes maculatus or flesh-eating beetles, these are the bugs professional taxidermists, academics, and museums use to clean dead flesh from the bones of specimens prior to storage, display, etc. They can be used by anyone who wants to clean bones they find interesting and may want to keep or display, such as deer or bear skulls, or other similar items. And they are also commonly used by roach-keepers to reduce or eliminate dead roach carcasses from their colonies. This helps keep roach colonies clean and free of mold and bacteria, thus reducing disease risk and raising productivity.

Dermestid beetles and larvae eat only dead flesh and tissue, like cartilage and skin. They will not harm bone, and they avoid living animals. This makes them ideal colony scavengers for roaches and efficient skeleton cleaners for home and professional taxidermy projects, big and small. These are the insects you want if you have a skull you need cleaned, animal skeletons of any size that you want to process, or a roach colony (or other insects) that needs ongoing maintenance.

Regarding roaches, these are particularly useful in Dubia colonies. They help manage mold and bacteria by competing with pathogens for food and by reducing moisture accumulation. Dubia roach turnover tends to be high, and die-offs are common. Dermestid beetles are a good way to protect your investment and reduce maintenance costs.

If roach colony cleanliness is your goal, you may also consider adding Dermestid beetles and buffalo beetles together as cleaner crews. While Dermestids eat dead roaches, buffalo beetles eat leftover food and moist frass (roach poo). They tend not to compete with each other for food because each has its own separate niche. Professional roach-keepers commonly use both species in their colonies.

Default shipping is FREE via USPS First Class mail. We also offer expedited shipping at below our cost.

Regarding size, 50 is plenty for small and medium Dubia colonies. 200 or more are intended for either very large Dubia (or other) roach colonies, or for multiple colonies, or for those who want to start their own Dermestid beetle colony. 500 of the cleaner insects, for example, can be split between five 30-gallon Dubia colonies. In the end, it’s OK to go a little over or under with the number. Their population will rise or fall over the course of a few months, depending on conditions, which include food availability.

NOTE: Please order only if you can securely house these insects. They don’t climb smooth surfaces, but the beetles may fly at about 90 degrees F and above. If you keep your roaches at these temperatures, you will need a way to contain the beetles. A screened lid is a common solution. Also, keep in mind that these insects could become pests in certain situations. They have been known to eat leather (although we’ve never seen this), and they burrow, so please do your research first to be sure they’re right for you and your situation. You are solely responsible for keeping these insects.

IMPORTANT INFORMATIONPlease read the following to maximize the chance of live arrival in cold or hot weather.

All orders received before 2 pm M-F are shipped the same day. Orders received between 2 pm on Friday and Monday will ship on Monday. We may ship on Saturday, but we cannot guarantee it. It depends on the weather, distance to your location, and other factors. We ship quickly, so please keep an eye on tracking.

How to maximize the chance of live arrival:

(1) If your temperature is between 40°F and 80°F: No need to do anything special.(2) Your temp is below 40°F or above 80°F: A heat/cold pack and post office hold for pickup is strongly recommended. You can expect DOA if you don’t take measures to ensure live arrival.

These things are important. Please take care to ensure your insects survive shipping.A post office hold is free and is the best thing to do when it’s hot. Your local post office will send you an email when your package arrives. A post office hold greatly increases the chance your Dermestid beetles and larvae will arrive alive in extreme temperatures.

Please be careful when it is very hot or cold (very = above 80°F or below 40°F). Buying insects involves risk, but they can be mitigated. We do all we can on our end, but there are things you may need to do on your end. These may include being aware of your weather forecast, choosing the right shipping method, heat or cooling packs, being home for delivery, post office hold, not letting the package sit overnight at the post office, etc.

When it?s hot (particularly above 80°F): A post office hold is best. Cooling packs are second. The main cause of loss by far is (a) being out for delivery all day in the heat and (b) being left in a hot location (mail box, porch). If you avoid these two things, you avoid 90% of the risk.

When it’s cold (particularly below freezing): A post office hold with a heat pack is best, but it depends on how cold it is. When it’s cold, there are a few more ways for loss to occur, but this depends on the severity of the cold. When it’s very cold (near or below freezing), losses are usually caused by (a) sitting in a mailbox, uncollected, with no heat pack, (b) sitting in a post office overnight, uncollected, with no heat pack, and (c) being out for delivery all day with no heat pack. If it’s 40°F, for example, you might get away with all of these things. If it’s 20°F, you probably wouldn’t get away with any of them.

LIVE ARRIVAL ISSUESPlease send us a message if you encounter any problems with your order, and we’ll do our best to resolve them! For live arrival issues, please contact us within 3 hours of delivery and include photos of all the insects to confirm their condition. You can attach photos to messages. If you do this, we will issue a refund for the insects that didn’t make it, or we can discuss other options.

Shipping insects is inherently risky when temperatures are very high or low. Following our instructions (heat pack and post office hold) prevents most problems, but not all. However, most of the remaining problems can be fixed if you contact us.

MAIL OPTIONS:Our standard shipping is free via USPS Ground Advantage. We also offer shipping via Priority Mail at a small additional cost.

RESTRICTIONS:NOTE: We do not ship Dermestids to Hawaii or Puerto Rico due to local restrictions on what residents are allowed to import.