Are Saw Tooth Grain Beetles a Concern?

Vanessa

Grammostola Groupie
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
2,423
And do I need to be worried if they are in my tarantula enclosure? I know that they are sold at the pet shop that I get my crickets from... could they have hitched a ride with a cricket?
I don't know much about springtails, but I thought I read somewhere that not all of them are good. I have only found one.
_DSC6563-2.jpg
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
I guess it is -- had to google it. Never knew what they looked like up close. They look like tiny little white whips to my naked eye.
(edited heavily lol)
 

Thistles

Arachnobroad
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
624
Nope. Some sorta beetle...? Google Collembola. They're little and white.
 

Thistles

Arachnobroad
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
624
Nah, it isn't. The body shape and "tail" and stuff are wrong.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
Really? She must have super magnification. I've seen mine under a microscope and they didn't look like that.
I know, right?! I found an enlarged springtail pix on google and it looked like her pix.
I honestly would have thought they look more like a worm-with-tail magnified -- not a legged creature. Sheeesh!
 
Last edited:

Vanessa

Grammostola Groupie
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
2,423
I did google 'springtail' and came across a couple of photos that looked similar to this one. I always google stuff before posting here... always.
 

Thistles

Arachnobroad
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
624
I know, right?! I found an enlarged springtail pix on google and it looked exactly like her pix. I learned something today! :)
I honestly would have thought they look more like a worm-with-tail magnified -- not a legged creature. Sheeesh!
I'm still skeptical. They do have a little tail that folds under (how they hop) and the legs, antennae and body segments look different. I'm not an entemologist, so this is just my opinion. Maybe I've seen different species, but I have looked under a microscope and they looked pretty different.
 

Vanessa

Grammostola Groupie
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
2,423
First, I did a search here on 'parasites in my tarantula enclosure'. Then, I did a google image search on all the options that people gave in their responses (I only found three pages, so the search option isn't that great and none of the posts here provided photos) and springtail was the closest that I saw to this one.
That is when I decided that maybe posting my photo would help me out.
 

Thistles

Arachnobroad
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
624
Didya google it? Or wikipedia it?
Yeah, I googled! I saw different antennae and clearly visible body segments. This one looks like it might have wing covers. I also saw thick legs that taper gradually instead of the more dramatic changes. Again, I'm just a schmuck with Google like you, so I'm not God. It doesn't look like what I saw, but maybe I got different results searching for Collembola instead of springtail?
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
I, um (cough) have misplaced my springtail colony. I know, I know. I was going to feed them Sunday (brewer's yeast and fish flakes) and cannot find them anywhere.
My point is I would definitely put a magnifying glass and flashlight to them if I could, um, find them.
They are pretty self-sustaining.
Anyway -- springtails are the 'good guys' in tanks. So, no worries.
 
Last edited:

Vanessa

Grammostola Groupie
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
2,423
I gave my T. ockerti a cricket last night that I had stunned. He didn't eat it and crammed it down in his burrow. It was not alive. I came home tonight and my T. ockerti had moulted, so I dug the dead cricket out of his burrow and put it in the bowl I use when I do spiderling maintenance. That is when I saw this little creature running around... fast. It never flew - just ran. I squashed it a bit to keep it from moving so I could take a photo. It is really tiny - I used a macro lens.
This is the first time I have seen them. I was just wondering if I should be concerned.
 

Vanessa

Grammostola Groupie
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
2,423
Try saw tooth grain beetle.
Yep, that's what it is. Have they come in with the crickets? Do I need to be concerned if they are in with my tarantulas?
There is no end to the creatures that come in with crickets.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
The plot thickens! I don't think I have ever heard of just 1 springtail -- I think there is a law they must commune in packs of 1000.
 

pannaking22

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 25, 2011
Messages
4,226
Saw tooth grain beetle or at least some species of silvanid. Probably came in with your crickets since I'm guessing the pet store has them on some sort of dry food. Shouldn't do any harm to your T, especially if it's a humid species. These guys like stable, bone dry humidity, so anything even somewhat moist will either kill it or force it to relocate. Keep an eye out for others and just kill them on site. If in doubt, put some dry cereal or something along those lines out by your T enclosures and check on them every now again to see if they've been chewed on/in.
 

Vanessa

Grammostola Groupie
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
2,423
Thank you. Most of the species I keep are on the drier side. This is the first one I saw and I have taken a good look in the cricket enclosure and around it and I don't see any others. I will put some oatmeal down if I start seeing them on a regular basis.
Thanks again!
 

Thistles

Arachnobroad
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
624
The change in thread title makes me look like an idiot. "Is this a beetle?" And my reply is basically "no, some sort of beetle" like springtails never even happened.
 
Top