Bugs!

[Becki]

I wasn't quite sure where to put this, but the bugs in question are reptile food so this seemed good

First bug, I have NO idea what it is, does anyone know or know where I could find out?

I found it in my cricket tank, I assume it came in with the crickets b/c I've seen one or two in there before and never seen them anywhere else. The thing is there are TONS this time!! I went to clean the tank out and when I lifted up the paper towels there was a bunch in there. Luckily they can't climb glass!!

Second bug is a white cricket. I've had this batch of crix for 2-3 weeks and never saw any before and all of the sudden I found this guy last night

It's bigger than the rest and has bigger/different wings. I found another one today, very odd! I don't know if they're just albino's or what but they seemed to come out of nowhere.

[Laurie]

I have no idea what the first one is? The begining stages of a cricket?

I have seen those white crickets at my pet shop. Usually on the floor escaped from somewhere!

[Ravnos]

It is the larval form of a dermestid beetle. They aren't generally harmful, in fact they can be beneficial to a cricket colony as they eat the dead crickets (and other icky stuff) which otherwise can lead to bacteria and disease in the tank. The beetles are actually used in biological collections and by taxidermists to clean specimin skeletons of their meat/tissue.

And the 'different' cricket is in mid molt.

Rav

[Becki]

Interesting! Thanks Rav
Do you think my cham would/should eat them?

[Ravnos]

I don't see a cham eating dermestids, but I wouldn't feed them to anything anyway. They're better off just cleaning up the mess your crickets make.

Rav

[Becki]

LOL, ok. That works too, crickets are pretty dang messy!

[Deja]

Gads you are amazing - that is sooo creepy!

Facinating and interesting though, very!!

Those are great pictures! So, those hairy pods are larvae? They will turn into beetles? The larvae keep the tank clean? Wow-

What do you do with them when they turn into beetles?

Sorry for the questions - I'm so oogie about bugs - but the pictures and learning about them, well it's really interesting

[Ravnos]

They turn into little black beetles, and I usually just leave them. When I clean out the cricket bin I just send them out with it... eventually more come in with cricket shipments and the cycle starts over again.

Rav

[Deja]

ooh - ok - Thanks Rav
that's interesting! :bfly: