Can anyone ID these.

[AaronT]

Like stated above, these guys are coming in the same containers as my crickets.

 

[GailC]

They are the larvae of the grain beetle, completely harmless, will even help keep your cricket cage clean by eating the left over skins and dead crickets.

 

[AaronT]

Thanks for the quick reply Waldo. I take it these would be ok to feed to slings?

 

[The_Thunderer]

I've fed them to my leopard geckos... and they LOVED them. I don't see why they couldn't be fed to slings, since in the wild, if you're an insect and crawl in front of a hungry T, you're meat!

Didn't know that they helped keep things clean... If I had, perhaps my "cricket raising days" would still be here. The stink killed me though.

 

[Hedorah99]

They are the larvae of the grain beetle, completely harmless, will even help keep your cricket cage clean by eating the left over skins and dead crickets.

Actually, I am pretty sure they are dermestid beetle larvae.

 

[Stylopidae]

They are dermestid beetle larvae.

Cricket companies use them to get rid of dead corpses in their rearing stations.

I wouldn't feed them to your spiders. Crickets are known to be parasite ridden as it is...and those guys have been gut loaded on crickets who have died.

 

[The_Thunderer]

I wouldn't feed them to your spiders. Crickets are known to be parasite ridden as it is...and those guys have been gut loaded on crickets who have died.

EEEWWW!!! Now I gotta worry about Leopard Geckos with parasites. J/K. LOL. If they're eating the dead crix that are in with the live ones AND crix eat each other (which we know they do)... then they're all contaminated. No sense worrying about that one.

 

[AaronT]

No sense worrying about that one.

I hope so as my little guys have already began feasting

 

[The_Thunderer]

I hope so as my little guys have already began feasting

Well, I was kinda being sarcastic. IF, indeed, the dead crickets had parasites, and these guys ate those dead crickets, then since crickets ALSO eat each other, they'll have those parasites too. Crickets love to eat each other. Even when I feed my crickets well, they end up eating each other. Yuck.

So, even if you didn't feed your T's these guys and just fed them the crickets that they came with, you'd still have the same parasite problem.

All of this is assuming that Chesire is correct that the original crickets are parasite ridden.

 

[Widowman10]

i hate those things. probably just cause of the bad experiences of them eating my preserved collection.

what should you do if one or two get in your Ts cage? i've always taken them out, are they beneficial in any way at all?

 

[Nerri1029]

I've had them too.. in with my roaches.

I sent a load off to Old Hag a while ago.


they do more good than harm (IMO)

 

[Widowman10]

I've had them too.. in with my roaches.


they do more good than harm (IMO)

good with roaches? or good with Ts? i don't see how they can be beneficial to have in a T enclosure. can someone help me out?

 

[Stylopidae]

Well, I was kinda being sarcastic. IF, indeed, the dead crickets had parasites, and these guys ate those dead crickets, then since crickets ALSO eat each other, they'll have those parasites too. Crickets love to eat each other. Even when I feed my crickets well, they end up eating each other. Yuck.

So, even if you didn't feed your T's these guys and just fed them the crickets that they came with, you'd still have the same parasite problem.

All of this is assuming that Chesire is correct that the original crickets are parasite ridden.

You're right...I didn't look at it from that angle. Although, the *live* crickets are less likely to be parasite ridden...you know, being alive and all.

Every problem with parasites I've ever had I have traced back to crickets.

 

[Ted]

ive never had any parasite issues with crickets..but ive been lucky, i guess.

as far as dermestid larvae..
i would kill them..as they are destructive pests and can get into your food supply[dog food, etc] as well as any preserved specimens you may have.
i love to use dermestids for cleaning corpses..but now i do that away from my house.

 

[lucanidae]

You're right...I didn't look at it from that angle. Although, the *live* crickets are less likely to be parasite ridden...you know, being alive and all.

This makes no sense. A live animal is more likely or just as likely to have parasites than a dead animal. When an animal dies it is of no more use to the parasite and the parasite leaves. I.E when an animal gets hit by a car all the fleas and the bot flies and other parasites abandon the body as it cools. A dead animal is of no use to a parasite. From the other angle, any animal dead in a container is just as likely to have had parasites as any other, but will gain none when it dies.....as it isn't a parasite if it jumps onto an already dead animal.

The dermestids aren't harmful to your T's any more than crickets are. They will clean up dead crickets in the T cage and are a fine food item, though some T's won't take them. You have to watch out though of course, when a spider is molting a dermestid may turn on it just as a fast as a cricket would.

 

[Stylopidae]

This makes no sense. A live animal is more likely or just as likely to have parasites than a dead animal. When an animal dies it is of no more use to the parasite and the parasite leaves. I.E when an animal gets hit by a car all the fleas and the bot flies and other parasites abandon the body as it cools. A dead animal is of no use to a parasite. From the other angle, any animal dead in a container is just as likely to have had parasites as any other, but will gain none when it dies.....as it isn't a parasite if it jumps onto an already dead animal.

The dermestids aren't harmful to your T's any more than crickets are. They will clean up dead crickets in the T cage and are a fine food item, though some T's won't take them. You have to watch out though of course, when a spider is molting a dermestid may turn on it just as a fast as a cricket would.

Probably not my brightest moment. I wasn't thinking of nematodes and the like when I wrote that...I was thinking of bacteria.

Actually, I'll admit I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I really must have not been paying attention. :?

If the pathogen which killed the cricket is bacteria, would it still be around and living in the corpse, wouldn't it?

 

[lucanidae]

It depends. Probably not in this case. After death the bacteria in the gut of an animal tend to go crazy since they are perfectly adapted for the environment. Once the animal is dead its systems for keeping the bacteria under control shut down. This tends to lead to a massive explosion of gut bacteria. (Never go into battle after eating, if you take a stomach/gut hit you'll go septic....) However, bacteria do well in moist environments, most crickets die and are eaten or dry out very quickly, leaving nothing but a harmless dried exoskeleton. This is what the dermestids feed on, they don't like moist or rotting foods too much.