The Scientist Is In: Inside the Museum’s Beetle Colony

Thursday, May 13, 2021

2–2:45 pm ET

A colony of Dermestid beetles crawl around small metal trays containing specimens.
A colony of Dermestid beetles crawl around small metal trays containing specimens.
© AMNH
How are zoological specimens prepared for Museum collections? 

One answer is: beetles! Take a rare look at how the Museum's in-house colony of Dermestid beetles helps to clean skeleton specimens destined for the Vertebrate Zoology collections. Ornithology Collection Manager Paul Sweet shows how these insects, which are some of nature’s most efficient scavengers, are an integral part of specimen preparation.