Worms With My Crickets?!?!?!?

[Chamified]

I use to buy crickets from pet stores. And every other time i would find this hairy worm in the bag with them which I crush and throw away. What are they and what are they doing there.
~Thanks

 

[Chamified]

Refresh hahahaa

 

[Elizadolots]

I've never gotten the hairy worm...I get these little flying beetle things the kids at the store and I call "the crickets' friends". I try to set them free whenever I can but some will stay with the crickets until the bitter end....then they do get to go free.

 

[dodolah]

the hairy worm is there as cleanup crew.
I just usually left them there..

 

[Ellron]

What type of worm is it? Does it clean up the poo and dead crickets? Sounds great!

 

[dodolah]

What type of worm is it? Does it clean up the poo and dead crickets? Sounds great!

Honestly, I never bother to check the species.. And, the worms only did the work minimally... unfortunately, with 500 crickets in the tub, we still need to clean it manually. The worms just helped out.. that's all.

 

[jrh3]

i have had he same guys in mine and this is what i thought they were dermestid, i asked a while back. http://www.fieldandstream.com/files/imagecache/photo-article-left/photo/23/DermestidBeetle.jpg


https://www.chameleonforums.com/dermestid-beetles-38727/

 

[fluxlizard]

The hairy worm and the flying beetle are the same insect, different stages of life.

They are the cleanup crew- probably cleaning up dead crickets more than poo.

It sort of cracks me up to know someone out there is setting them free (it is sort of similar to setting houseflies free). It's funny but nice to know there is some good in the world.

I feed mine out to my lizards which eat both the hairy worms and the beetles and they've never given my lizards any problems after a dozen or more years of doing this and the lizards seem to enjoy them.