A nightmare come true

Bob the thief

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
285
I was looking at my old abandonded cricket colony trying to clean it out when I found out what may have killed them.
When I sifted the soil HUNDREDS of fuzzy brown mealworm looking larvae where in the soil.
Boy am I lucky I dident feed those crickets to my t's.
Right now im trying to figure out what they are they sorta look like a cross between a short mealworm and a caterpillar.
 

Gillian

Arachnoblessed
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
1,123
Bob,
Funny you should mention those as, when I was still buying crickets from the petshop, I would occasionally get some of these. They basically grossed me out, so I used to pick them out, and flush them down the toilet. (this may have been a good thing, I think)
Peace,
Gillian
 

Bob the thief

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
285
wait wait wait. So there from the petshop?
if I can id the name I can use this against petco.
 

Gillian

Arachnoblessed
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
1,123
Bob,
I always got my cricks from a private owned petshop. But yep, that's where I found them..
Peace,
Gillian
 

ROACHMAN

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 23, 2002
Messages
90
MESS UP

They are beetle larva they feed on dead insects or dead animals:}
 

Jesse607

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
715
They are a species of Dermestid beetles, and as roachman said, they eat dead insects, and dead animal flesh with low moisture content. You could probably use them for feeders too.
 

jwb121377

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 20, 2002
Messages
905
I always get them with my cricket shipments. Never knew what they were before but now I do. Thanks Roachman and jezzy607.:)
 

Wade

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
2,929
These are the same beetles used by many museums and universities to clean the flesh off skeletons. Generally, the flesh needs to be pretty dry before the beetles are interested (as Jeezy mentioned). They're sometimes called "skin beetles", as implied by the latin name.

They shouldn't cause any problems to living arthropods, but they can destroy a collection of pinned insects very quickly if not adequately protected. They also like taxadermy. Yum yum.

Wade
 

fantasticp

Arachnocompulsive
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 18, 2004
Messages
512
Oh my god! Are you guys talking about the same thing I have? I found fuzzy 1/2 in fuzzy worm things with 6 front legs like superworms, black on top, peach on bottom, in my shipment from american cricket ranch. Dermestis beetles! How much of a risk is there that some will turn into beetles and form a colony in my house? Would the dried/decaying flesh they crave include things like leather pants or jackets? I found three, and one escaped with the help of my cat. You have to assume though, if one escaped, another might have that I missed. How do they get in cricket bins? As eggs? Or in their food?
 

fantasticp

Arachnocompulsive
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 18, 2004
Messages
512
The count is up to 16. I looked more closely after finding some sheds. I am not worried about the ones in the bin, just any that may have escaped.
 

Wade

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 16, 2002
Messages
2,929
They are not likley to bother leather clothing products because of the various oils used in making them.

I have a pretty major dermestid infestation at my house, they came with the crickets. They turn up in my invert and reptile cages, as they are attracted to leftover food. There are tons of them in my roach bins. They almost never turn up outside my animal area. If you don't have A LOT of animals, you probably won't get an infestation. Although they are somewhat annoying, I don't think they cause any real harm. I suspect they may eat burried cricket eggs, so if you're trying to hatch your own crickets, set up the breeders in a dermstid-proof container.

If anything, they may be bennificial! I've noticed reduced numbers of flies since the beetles arrived, likley because they out-compete the maggots for food. They can, however, destroy a pinned insect collection, so watch out for that if you have one!

Wade
 

fantasticp

Arachnocompulsive
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 18, 2004
Messages
512
I do have sort of a growing collection. Have you seen any as beetles yet? How mobile/flighty/easy to catch are they? Now that you mention it, I did notice a lack of flies by my crickets. I suppose I wouldn't mind leaving them, or putting them in with my roaches (both containers have very high walls) if I could br sure they wouldn't escape as beetles and infest my bathroom or something. I don't have any pinned bugs or stuffed animals (the real kind), but I do have some clothing that has questionably real fur on it. Oen more question: How do you suppose they moved from tank to tank in your place? As beetles? With the crickets? Via the furnishings? They do not appear to be able to climb walls.
 
Top