little black beetles in my mealworm substrate??

juleszuckerberg

New Member
Messages
9
hey critter keepers! I have a feeder bug mystery on my hands:
yesterday I got some mealworms from our local pet store and found a handful of these little black beetles crawling around in the substrate. my first guess is dermestids as they are MUCH smaller than the mealies (see comparison photo), but I pulled up some photos online and couldn't confidently make the ID. does anyone have a clue what they might be and if they potentially pose a threat to the worms? or know of any insect ID sources I can take these questions to? thanks!!
 

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acpart

Geck-cessories
Staff member
Messages
15,119
Location
Somerville, MA
Yes, they're dermestid beetles and they won't do any harm. If you find some little worms in with your mealworms that look as if they have more legs than mealworms, those are the dermestid beetle larvae.

Aliza
 

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