Word: dermestid
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...eats aphids and other small insects?to the gardener's delight. Before the development of dyes made from coal-tar derivatives, a scale insect provided the world with red dye; other species of scale insects are still used in the manufacture of shellac. The flesh-eating larvae of the dermestid beetle are used by museums to strip clean the bones of animals so that their skeletons can be mounted for display. Ancient Egyptians venerated the scarab beetle as a symbol of immortality; among its other activities, the insect breaks up and carries away animal and human droppings that might otherwise...
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