Experimental transmission of Enterobacteriaceae by insects. I. Fate of Salmonella fed to the hide beetle Dermestes maculatus and a novel method for mounting insects.

A method of mounting insects was devised. The procedure is simple to perform and facilitates quantitative bacteriological studies of feces with a minimal possibility of cross contamination. By this method, it was observed that approximately 10(7) cells of Salmonella were required for passage through the intestinal tract. Multiple doses of this magnitude were necessary to initiate intestinal infection. The numerical considerations cast doubt that Dermestes is involved significantly in the dissemination of Salmonella in the environment of food and feed plants.