beetle larva in my roach colony...

[Kaddock]

So I found this little beetle larva in my hisser substrate... About the same color as a nymph and about the same length as my smallest ones. It is skinny and many and has a white underbelly, and many hairs. I have isolated it and gave it some gut load and a sponge... Not really sure if that's right! Any ideas on what kind of larva this is, or how to raise it? I will try to get a pic, but my cell phone takes horrible pictures...

 

[Peter Clausen]

It's likely a dermestid beetle larva. You may also have seen the salt and pepper, adult beetles (tiny, head of a pin-size) on your carpet.

A tidy cage will prevent these from spreading. They feed mostly on the decaying soft tissue, but will chow through exoskeletons over time. I've had several dried collections decimated by these things off and on through life. Throw away the dead roaches and the beetles will disappear. If you have a dead collection of bugs in your closet you'll likely find that's the source of your problem if it wasn't the roach cage.

 

[Kaddock]

That looks to be the one!

Thanks Peter. Do you know how they may have gotten in? The substrate? Also, I am a vegetarian, and have no meat around, should I just toss an exoskeleton in the larvas enclosure if I want to raise it? Do you think they require any water? :huh:

 

[cloud jaguar]

Peter, is that the same as a Larder Beetle larva? I think I had a cricket cage infested with those!

 

[PhilinYuma]

That looks to be the one! Thanks Peter. Do you know how they may have gotten in? The substrate? Also, I am a vegetarian, and have no meat around, should I just toss an exoskeleton in the larvas enclosure if I want to raise it? Do you think they require any water? :huh:

The beetles can fly and are attracted to rotting material so that they can get married and raise a family.

They're a large family, and some are called carpet beetles (they can eat the oily material in wool carpets) pepper and salt (just one species, I think, named for the color of the adults' elytra), skin beetles, etc. I often get the larvae in with a batch of crix.

They are best known for their ability to "clean" animal bones for museum curators and taxidermists. I used them for this purpose when I was a kid, but my mum made me keep them in the barn because of the stink.

[it is so cool to be old! I can do all (most!) of the things that I enjoyed as a kid, without rents telling me, "get that stuff out of the house!]

No. They wont survive on mantis exoskeletons!

If you want to read some practical advice on how to raise them, check here: http://www.taxidermy.net/forums/IndustryAr...0419FE7872.html

And remember, Google is your friend.

 

[Kaddock]

Thanks!