Thanks for the info, the colonies that I have seen must be different "bugs" I think they were museum beetles? I have seen huge colonies of them, but the actual beetle was doing the eating...
Here is some published info on Beetles that explains it a little more than I did.
The dermestid or carpet beetle belongs to the family Dermestidae. Dermestids feed on mainly dry-moist animal material but I have not found them to be overly picky with their dining preferences. There are many species of Dermestid beetles that live in N. America and you have probably come across them a time or two whether you know it or not. These beetles will invariably show up at a carcass, and leave behind a tell tale pile of shells which the beetles discarded as they molted. Domestic colonization of wild species has proven to be very difficult, however the species most easily colonized is Dermestes maculatus. These beetles metamorphosis; that is, egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages. The complete life cycle lasts about 45 days per generation. The adult beetles lay eggs which are too small to be seen with the naked eye. A few days later very small larvae hatch out which begin looking for their first meal. The larvae continue eating and molting 8 times
before they reach about � of an inch in length. This growing and molting period lasts about 30 days. It is the larvae that do the majority of the cleaning, however the adult will continue to eat, but they tend to have less of an appetite. When the large larvae mature
and their bellies are full they find a quite spot to pupate. As they pupate their last outer larvae skin falls off leaving them somewhat yellow in appearance. 7 days later out comes an adult beetle. Within a day or two the adult is laying 4-5
eggs a day and the whole process begins again.
