ID help: Brown Wriggly Thing in with Crickets

[SludgeMunkey]

That is a beetle larvae of some sort. I would be cautious of that cricket supplier as the presence of these is usually a sign of poor sanitation at the cricket farm. I happen to know an entomologist, so with your permission I will forward the pictures to him for a positive ID if you like.

[snoopfroggyfrog]

oh dear i found something very similar in with a tub of crickets i bought not 100% but it was a brown larvae with legs very much like your picture.......
Im glad i read this post ill watch out for that in the future......

[UncleChester]

That is a beetle larvae of some sort. I would be cautious of that cricket supplier as the presence of these is usually a sign of poor sanitation at the cricket farm.

I didn't count the larvae at the time, but it looks like there are ~20 wriggling around with my crickets (they were an order of 500, 1/4" crickets).

Maybe a third of the crickets were DOA, but they gave plenty extra and I was sure there were over 500 alive. They were packaged and delivered to the pet store by the supplier and picked up by me in the same day. Is this sort of casualty rate excessive? I'm new to this, so wasn't sure what to expect. Ideally, I'll be able to get them breeding, so I won't need to rely on any supplier.

I happen to know an entomologist, so with your permission I will forward the pictures to him for a positive ID if you like.

That would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[1beataway]

That sounds excessive to me. I've never ordered crickets though. But at the store I work at, when we get crickets 10% or less are DOA. Sometimes it'll end up being closer to 5% or less.

[SludgeMunkey]

If my cricket suppliers delivered with that high of a mortality rate coupled with the beetle larvae, I would find a new supplier. Even in this cold time of the year, I never have more than about 5 DOA out of 1000 crickets per box- if any.

[Tom Highum]

Johnny have you figured out what it is?

[Bellerophon]

wow, I've been passing over this thread since I figured it would be answered within the first response. What you've found is a dermestid beetle larvae. They eat flesh and are commonly used to clean museum specimens. They can and will eat crickets. If your getting one or two every so often then I wouldn't worry about switching suppliers. Even the best are going to have issues with dermestid infestation.

[SludgeMunkey]

I suspected as much, but Lee confirmed it. My entomologist connection laughed at me for not remembering the name right off the bat.

I agree with Lee, one or two is not a big deal, but the numbers of dermestid beetle larvae in (common name in these parts is "carpet beetle") and mortality rate of the crickets you are getting really is unacceptable in my book.

[Kurt]

Thats what I thought they were, but wasn't certain or was sure on how to spell it. My guess is most crickets "farms" also raise these as well. The beetles are flighted, so do manage to get around.