Found this in my roach colony it killed to my roaches, what is it?
HelpYep! Opened container of superworms today only to be greeted by darkling beetles
Yikes!
It’s a super worm beetle. Just feed it to your dragon nice crunchy snack.
The final boss roach.
Do you have a cleaner crew? Or keep superworms?
There are a few super worms and a cleanup crew
I think it is a darkling beetle but I’m not sure
It definitely is. It will happen from time to time you keep feed them out as a treat.
It's a darkling beetle (from a superworm)
They start off with that vivid copper colour and soon go black
You can still feed it to your beardie or keep it to breed superworms
So wait...how does that work? How does a beetle come from a superworm?
Man, every time I think I know most everything about keeping a beardie as a pet, reality slaps me over the head with something absolutely bonkers like this haha.
A superworm is the larval form of a darkling beetle
I learned something extremely important on this night, thank you.
Most reptile feeder ‘worms’ turn into something. Butter, wax, silk, horn etc
Probably a good thing you learned before you end up finding one someday. It happens to all of us, I think.
I found a couple of them, and thought they’d come in from outside - so I “returned them to their home” in the yard. Still wonder if I unintentionally introduced an invasive species, lol.
I did this with hoppers amd crickets and then we found out they were hiding in the pipe chirping😂.
So wasnt funny but is funny. Now i kill them with a shoe because cant do anything else with them. My rankin will only eat baby crickets and hes like 1 now
A superworm is a pre mutated beetle, like a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, a superworm becomes a darkling beetle
I let some superworms set in a bag from the pet shop a bit too long and they tore through it, but I assumed I'd either find them or their dead bodies eventually. A few weeks later I found like a dozen massive beetles in the span of like one day and thought I had an infestation, then come to find out it was just the worms I lost lmao. I was just upset about the wasted money I spent
The worms have the second chance perk.
Virtually every feeder worm for reptiles is the larval form of a beetle or fly (such as black soldier flies). Sometimes you'll find one or two in your worm tubs. Sometimes a whole bunch. And it's important to know if you're keeping extra worms in anything but their own container, as in the situation.
You already got the replies you wanted, but I will add that any larva (or almost) will change dramatically if their conditions and needs are being satisfied (given enough time).
Caterpillars are the easiest to recognise of course, but most other larva will turn into beetles of some kind. That's because many insects go through a complete metamorphosis, and the larvae often live in different habitats compared to the adults.
Hornworms turn into moths. That's why they're usually more expensive than other bugs
Wax worms also turn into moths. I think there quite pretty and cross the road amd let them fly
def a darkling beetle theyre rlly resiliant
darklinf beetle probably and damn that bitch is huge
Damnnnnnnn, you got a female super beetle on your hands. As a person who has a few superworm farms, i am well familiar with how super beetles look and behave, i can tell you that is definitely a female superworm that became a beetle. Based on my observations between 4 different farms, ive noticed that females are ruthless and will eat literally EVERYTHING in their path. They will even eat the males, and while I’m not fully sure why this is, my theory is that they have to carry lots of eggs so they need lots of nutrients; therefore they eat a TON. I highly recommend you get that beetle her own container or feed her to your reptile, but please take my word on this, PLEASE DONT RELEASE IT INTO THE WILD. My dumbass made that mistake with one egg-bound female, i was out there thinking “be free tiny creature, live within the wild for the end of your life” and now (as a result) we have wild superworms that eat our plants…
You’re sure it’s killing your roaches?
These guys aren’t aggressive or carnivorous, you might look for other causes for your roaches dying.
no the females just eat EVERYTHING in their path so it’s probably eating the roaches. she just needs a separate container
Looks like a snack for your lil guy
ROACH KING!!!
Big darkling beetle
A menace
Sacrifice for the lizard Gods
Looks like expired Zophobas.
Also, it killed a roach? I thought roaches are very territorial, I would’ve expected the roaches to kill the beetle first o.O
Roaches don't kill other creatures. Some roaches are territorial, but they will only duel, not attack to kill, and they will probably only try to tell creatures nearby off, not duel them like with other roaches(I'm specifically referring to hissers, as dubias don't do that, though I'm not sure if male dubias will do anything to each other)
So if I get a roach infestation, can I just unleash a hundred of these things into my house and they take care of it?
No, they are very unlikely to hurt roaches, unless they're already weak or dead. You might also end up introducing an invasive species if your climate can handle them, so please don't try.
Off topic but does anybody else have dubia or super worms that escape the bowl? Even a deep bowl with a rim, I have no idea how it happens. We’ve had a few roaches get loose in his 120 gallon and I’d walk by his enclosure at night and see them. When we tried to capture them they’d run into the holes of the hide. Eventually a few of the roaches became HUGE. Fuckin nightmare fuel.
My boyfriend dumped boiling water all over the hide and that did the trick. As someone who hates insects I can’t believe what I put up with for my dragon.
My enclosure probably has 30 or 40 dubias living in it now that have escaped the bowls. They dig under the bowl and live underneath the basking stone. I guess they must get enough leftover salad to stay alive.
Oh god. NO! Lol
I also raise dubias myself, so I’m beyond them creeping me out
Yeah, I’m probably not in the “normal” category here. Aren’t you afraid of them getting out and into your bed? Haha
I live in south Louisiana right next to the woods, so I see giant roaches regularly anyway. Never had one in my bed (that I know of at least!)
The reason I brought this up was because one day I saw a darkling beetle strutting around his tank and I had to look up what it was. They don’t creep me out quite as much, probably because they’re slow.
The first time I saw one in the enclosure, it made me nervous. It must have just turned from larvae into beetle because it was brighter orange than that pic. Thought it might be poisonous
Bugs are weird, man.
Hard to imagine that something like 1 out of 4 species on Earth is a beetle
Thems survivors, those beetles.
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2.2y
They had superworms in with their roaches. This beetle is a metamorphosed superworm.
Darkling beetle though brighter than what i have seen in person I always put my Superworms in my fridge though these beetles are still safe to feed your dragon so you won't need to waste them either way
Alpha Roach
This looks like a superworm turned darkling beetle to me