# Mealworms.. what the **** are the black things?



## northmcqueen (Nov 28, 2012)

Bought a box of mealworms for my new hedgie the other day, needless to say he loves them! But there were a couple of other things in there.. they were about the same length as the mealies but black in colour and had a tonne of legs. At first I thought they might be fast developing mealworms but I had a google and can't find anything that looks like them. Anyway, Rupert wont eat them so I've been chucking them out into the garden LOL. Just curious as to what they are really!


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Huh, that's weird...were they moving? My first guess would be just dead mealworms (only black thing I've ever found in mealie containers), but if they're still alive, I have no clue.


----------



## SouthernSweet (Jul 25, 2012)

yeah the only black ones I've seen are the dead mealies :? are the black ones mobile?


----------



## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

They might be the little fuzzy larvae of the dermestid beetle, which tend to infest mealworm colonies if they are anywhere nearby. Warning, don't look them up unless you want to see a lot of half-clean skeletons - they are used to clean the meat off bones/out of skulls for those who keep skeletons for whatever reason. A little gross. But that may be what they are, I've noticed some mealworm growers have a problem with them.


----------



## northmcqueen (Nov 28, 2012)

Hi, yes they are alive. I googled the dermestid beetle thing... it could be those I think. I've not looked too closely to be honest, they're disgusting and I've chucked three out of the window! There's not been any in the latest box I bought from the store though, so that's good. I'll be inspecting more closely before I buy next time!


----------



## eskye (Oct 5, 2012)

Almost certainly dermestid beetle larvae! Don't chuck them! They make a good feeder too. And if you ever start your own mealworm colony, you'll want them for sure. Kind of silly to chuck them, they're so useful.


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

eskye said:


> Almost certainly dermestid beetle larvae! Don't chuck them! They make a good feeder too. And if you ever start your own mealworm colony, you'll want them for sure. Kind of silly to chuck them, they're so useful.


They're too creepy to be worth it though! :lol: I HATE those things, we used to get them in the cricket bins at work. Bleeeeeh.


----------



## northmcqueen (Nov 28, 2012)

eskye said:


> Almost certainly dermestid beetle larvae! Don't chuck them! They make a good feeder too. And if you ever start your own mealworm colony, you'll want them for sure. Kind of silly to chuck them, they're so useful.


My boy wont eat them, he turned his nose up at them lol. They're horrible I don't want to keep them in my house in case they escape!


----------



## eskye (Oct 5, 2012)

They're not bad- and they die pretty quickly when they get out. I get escapees all the time because I don't try very hard to contain them. They wouldn't get out and infest anything- the most is you'd find one while vacuuming or something. I like them, since they're interesting (plus cheap food to grow at home, I'm not made of money). A lot of elementary teachers come to my reptile store to pick them up. They use them to teach life cycles to children.


----------

