Definition of dermestid in English:

noun

• A small beetle of a family ("Dermestidae" ) that includes many kinds which are destructive (especially as larvae) to hides, skin, fur, wool, and other animal substances.

  Example sentences

  • ‘The dank cave floor swarms with flesh-eating dermestid beetles, which museums often employ to clean animal skeletons; should a maladroit bat fall into their midst, they'll reduce it to bones in minutes.’
  • ‘The mandibles were exposed to dermestid beetles, cleaned, and the coordinates of 16 landmark points were digitized for the right hemimandible.’
  • ‘The destruction of nests discourages infestations by dermestid beetles and other insect scavengers which could move to other household items.’
  • ‘The left set of leg bones was cleaned by dermestid beetles and airdried in preparation for chemical analysis.’
  • ‘Specimens were then prepared for morphometric analysis with dermestid beetles, which cleaned and disarticulated skeletal elements of the head.’