While I was working on this particular beetle, I kept thinking of Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.” A furry bear of an insect with claws — and would you look at those antennae?
Meet Dermestes maculatus, best known as the Hide Beetle, a member of the family Dermestidae.
The Hide Beetle is what I call an undertaker, a custodian.
It feeds on carrion. In this way, the Hide Beetle plays a crucial role in the decomposition and breakdown of organic matter, which, in turn, accelerates nutrient recycling in ecosystems. I’d add that all this cleaning up of things that have passed saves us from a horrible pile-up of stench and pathogens. We are healthier for having Hide Beetles around.
Bone Cleaner and Crime Solver
They’re found worldwide, except in Antarctica. Beyond their custodial duties, Hide Beetles play a role in estimating postmortem intervals in forensic science, contributing to criminal investigations in ways most of us never think about. They’re also used in museums and universities for cleaning bones in skeleton preparation — a method that’s been around for 150 years, particularly for small animals with delicate bones. Dermestid beetle colonies, as they’re called, can strip a skeleton clean without damaging it in ways that chemical or manual methods can’t match.
Dermestes maculatus, better known as a Hide Beetle. Watercolor and archival ink (11 x 14 inches) on handmade TwinRocker artisan paper
© 2026 Kristin Maija Peterson.
Like a ride into Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, wouldn’t you say?
Most of us — unless we’re cleaning bones in an academic setting or investigating a crime scene — will never see a Hide Beetle in person. I can hear the collective sigh of relief.
This is part of an ongoing series I return to in between larger bodies of work: a way of pausing after a long project. Painting something small and finite, and diving into its ecology, feeds both my creativity and my curiosity. It’s satisfying to finish a watercolor illustration in a couple of days versus the 3-4 weeks it takes to complete a full-scale watercolor.
No matter how butt-ugly disgusting a bug might first appear, I keep finding that they really do serve a purpose. We’re better off having them around. Enter into the peace of wild things and those that take to the skies.
Explore More From the Insectarium
A Bio-Control Hero: Find out about a centuries-old interweaving of the invasive Leaf Spurge (plant), how it got to North America, and the tiny beetle that effectively saves our native prairies.
What Is It About Stink Bugs? Follow my fascination with their design to learn that not all Stink Bugs are invasive, and to understand why they ventured into your house. Spoiler alert: They just aren’t that into you.
The Benign Boxelder Bug: You probably see them, en masse, making a pilgrimage up the trunk of a Boxelder tree. Why do they do this? Find out more about one of the most native and benevolent insects in North America.
