# worm colony with weird worm?



## skyloc (Jul 5, 2012)

can anyone tell me what this weird looking worm thing is? I found it in my colony and I dont know if I should be using them anymore?

its mostly white with little orange hairs all over.


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## Thelegendofcharlie (Jul 5, 2012)

It appears to be a larva of some kind.
Of what? Beetle, moth, butterly, even some bees and wasps produce larva.
Its hard to tell unless youre savvy of the particular species.
if youre really curious I'd post on an insect forum.
Www.arachnoboards.com is a good one Im sure someone could answer your question there.
Whatever it is shouldnt disrupt a worm colony. Most larva and grubs will happily feed on compost and/mold so its just taking advantage of a free meal.
It shouldnt have contaminated anything if thats what your worried about or implying.
Why dont you make a small contained habitat for them and see what develops?
It could be a rewarding experience...


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## got10 (Jul 5, 2012)

Its a beetle larvae. Of what kind I dont know. I do remember someone tying to ruin some guys rep on the boi at f**** for them being in the shipment of crickets


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## skyloc (Jul 5, 2012)

Yes Im still worried that they might hurt my colony. I searched for a while and it looks like what you guys say might be right - some sort of beetle larve this is only based on the pictures I kept finding, nothing 100% matches but they are pretty close- Im just going to keep it aside and see what happens.


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## Dubya (Jul 5, 2012)

skyloc said:


> can anyone tell me what this weird looking worm thing is? I found it in my colony and I dont know if I should be using them anymore?
> 
> its mostly white with little orange hairs all over.



GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE ASAP!!! I found one of those in my garage and this happened!


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## skyloc (Jul 5, 2012)

Dubya said:


> skyloc said:
> 
> 
> > can anyone tell me what this weird looking worm thing is? I found it in my colony and I dont know if I should be using them anymore?
> ...



thats ok I think all my reptiles could handle it. hahahaha


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## Thelegendofcharlie (Jul 5, 2012)

Worse case scenario - just let one of your beardies get bitten by a radioactive spider and see what plays out.


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## JohnMatthew (Jul 5, 2012)

Look like dermestids to me. They only feed on dead and aren't a threat to your living colony. The fact that they're there could be a bad sign though, you may have some other problem killing off your feeders and they're there because there's a steady supply of dead on which to feed. It's extremely common to get a few in cricket shipments and they are completely harmless, useful actually.


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## SomethingTegu (Nov 23, 2012)

Those are dermestids. I have read that some feeder bug dealers will add them into a shipment (usually large shipments), and the dermestids will feed on some of the waste the feeder bugs make and the dead ones. Another thing I read on the internet was that some people cannot help but get some dermestids in their feeder enclosures, it just happens for whatever reason. I am pretty sure they eventually turn into tiny little beetles smaller than a meal worm beetle, had some of those larvaes and some beetles myself once upon a time. A little more reading on dermestids says they are household pests and they can chew through wood. I guess it makes sense because dermestids are often used in cleaning animal carcasses dry to the bone by taxidermists.


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