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Pretty sure this is a carpenter beetle larvae ***Update*** Maybe Trogoderma granarium here is the description given and warning website to report any sightings:<br />
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<a href="http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/beetles/khapra_beetle.htm" rel="nofollow">http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/beetles/khapra_beetle.htm</a><br />
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Okay, a month or so ago I found a struggling tarantula. He was so dehydrated and malnourished that I put him in captivity to see if I could help him stay alive. It did not look like an older spider so I thought maybe it was just having a rough time eating. I have raised a tarantula several years ago and had a pretty good idea as to what to try. Well the spider died that evening but I kept his body anyway. Today I decided to clean up his tomb and noticed a small hole around his abdominal area. Well curiosity got the better of me so I opened it up and this is what I found. Alive and well. I first thought maybe it was a larva stag of a tarantula hawk. They are a parasitic egg layer which eventually does kill the host by eating its heart and other organs. The problem with this theory is that is only take 2-3 weeks for full mutation into a wasp so this can not be the case. My other thought is that something completely different was just feeding on it post death. If this is the case I still don&#039;t know what it is. By imaging I found on-line it certainly is not a tarantula hawk larva. Fall,Geotagged,United States Click/tap to enlarge

Pretty sure this is a carpenter beetle larvae

***Update*** Maybe Trogoderma granarium here is the description given and warning website to report any sightings:

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/beetles/khapra_beetle.htm


Okay, a month or so ago I found a struggling tarantula. He was so dehydrated and malnourished that I put him in captivity to see if I could help him stay alive. It did not look like an older spider so I thought maybe it was just having a rough time eating. I have raised a tarantula several years ago and had a pretty good idea as to what to try. Well the spider died that evening but I kept his body anyway. Today I decided to clean up his tomb and noticed a small hole around his abdominal area. Well curiosity got the better of me so I opened it up and this is what I found. Alive and well. I first thought maybe it was a larva stag of a tarantula hawk. They are a parasitic egg layer which eventually does kill the host by eating its heart and other organs. The problem with this theory is that is only take 2-3 weeks for full mutation into a wasp so this can not be the case. My other thought is that something completely different was just feeding on it post death. If this is the case I still don't know what it is. By imaging I found on-line it certainly is not a tarantula hawk larva.

    comments (3)

  1. Definitely a beetle larva because it has 3 pairs of thoracic legs, but no prolegs. Looks like a dermestid larva. Posted 6 years ago
    1. Oops, I didn't see your update...There are a bunch of similar species that would feed on a dead insect. This site may help:
      https://wiki.bugwood.org/HPIPM:Dermestids
      Posted 6 years ago
  2. Here is a very interesting video...

    Posted 6 years ago

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By Stephen Philips

All rights reserved
Uploaded Nov 30, 2018. Captured Nov 30, 2018 12:17 in Unnamed Road, Tucson, AZ 85739, USA.
  • Canon EOS 5DS R
  • 1/200s
  • ISO200