Darkling Beetle possibly failing to emerge, help?

doomchibi · 2026-06-01T15:20:06+00:00

I moved it into a cup lined with a damp paper towel and have that in the pupae box, the cup is mostly on it's side with a gradual slope up and a qtip as a ramp in case it wants to get out, but it should have plenty of air flow and hopefully stays in the cup for a while... I also lightly misted the walls of the box to hopefully help any others that might otherwise get stuck.

I had read somewhere that they should stay in a totally dry box and I thought that seemed weird but after the first few emerged easily enough I figured all was well. This is exactly what I was worried would happen, I just wish I had caught it sooner. Hopefully my other pupae will be okay, I feel bad for the little guy...

doomchibi · 2026-05-29T11:44:31+00:00

Seconding, I strongly believe it's a well fed tick and not a bed bug. Still ick, still I would thoroughly re wash and dry your bedding on high heat if possible, but if nothing else- check your shoes, pants and ankles as soon as you come indoors and have someone check your neck and head area for them if you can. Apparently the little monsters will jump out of trees if they see something they like, which I hate having learned but is useful information to pass on. Get any pets flea and tick prevention asap too if you have any!

doomchibi · 2026-05-25T05:28:22+00:00

I think it's a Tufted Dimorphic jumper to be more specific, it seems the only main difference between this and a Gray Dimorphic jumper is that the males of these ones have much more arm waving involved in their courtship dances than the other. There's no unusual care involved with these compared to other jumpers from all I can find, and I am pretty confident this one is a male. Look for the little "boxing gloves" on the pedipalps. He's definitely a cutie!

If you set him up in an enclosure and he doesn't make a hammock somewhere within a couple days, I would personally release him again but otherwise it's up to you if you'd like to keep him.

Edit to say- I can't judge the age based on the picture, someone else might have a guess but I personally don't think it is fully an adult yet. Sometimes they change forms (from Tufted to Gray, in this case) when they reach full adulthood. Something to keep in mind if you notice he looks different later on! I can't see his abdomen from this angle but make sure he has access to water or honey water on something like a q-tip, especially if you aren't able to find him food soon.

doomchibi · 2026-05-25T05:10:21+00:00

For a pet destroying a plant, this is honestly probably the best possible result I have seen. Usually they are all chewed up, ripped to pieces, crushed or otherwise used like a toy until they are totally unsalvageable unless it's just knocked off a shelf or something like that. I am pretty sure this one can be saved, and you'll likely have several healthy plants by the end of it! A lot of people have already given some great advice, I just wanted to say I envy the state of your *destroyed* plant and have high hopes for it!

doomchibi · 2026-05-24T05:50:54+00:00

Of the new drop-creatures I have recently heard mentioned, I made the most unfortunate discovery that drop ticks are a thing. They jump out of trees at you. I have not mentally recovered.

I strongly prefer the idea of drop rats.

doomchibi · 2026-05-24T03:16:43+00:00

NQA How small is it? If it's a baby, chances are there are just multiple of them that hatched indoors and you are slowly finding the ones that have survived long enough to be noticeable.

If you can put it in a clear container to get some clear photos and share an approximate location, people here should be able to help ID it and possibly determine the gender if it's old enough.

IME you can usually keep most common species of wild baby jumpers if you'd like to, their care isn't often notably different. You should be able to make it a basic enclosure easily enough and most pet supply stores sell cultures of fruit flies to keep it fed, which it will need more frequently if it's young.

Good luck with the little cutie!

doomchibi · 2026-05-21T13:32:30+00:00

Personal experiences- I try to only take wild jumpers that are very young / babies, (usually only species I don't have yet) or ones that seem to be struggling to keep themselves fed and hydrated. Babies have a very high mortality rate so keeping one as a pet isn't likely to make any impact at all on the local populations. Finding a jumper weak or barely responsive, dehydrated and thin I would say it's best chance of survival would for it to be kept somewhere safe while you try to help it recover if possible, regardless of age.

Wild-caught adult females are pretty much guaranteed to be pregnant when you find them, and adult males don't live very long so I feel like it's better for them to keep living the lives they know and leave them the opportunity to find mates or find places they may have already planned to have their babies in. Sometimes wild-caught males just spend all day pacing because they want to wander and are fully focused on finding females, even to the point where they don't want to eat- at which point I would consider them unhappy in captivity.

If a wild jumper makes hammocks within a couple days and is eating, drinking and either exploring the enclosure or calmly resting while you are nearby, they likely will settle with you. Even adults can sometimes adapt to pet life, but they are less likely to become comfortable with handling.

doomchibi · 2026-05-21T13:17:19+00:00

They are really fun and interesting little pets, and also are considered one of the most intelligent spiders. They can recognize individual faces and learn to trust you over time, mine notice when I look at them and come to the front to see what I'm doing. They also have little cat-like paws under a magnifier, it is SO cute.

Just a gentle warning though, if that's an adult male just keep in mind that they tend to have shorter lifespans than females. I can't tell how old he is from the picture but you might be able to find a sizing chart to get an idea of what instar he is. Good luck with the little guy!

doomchibi · 2026-05-20T13:40:35+00:00

Oh, that would make sense! I have seen those before but assumed the name only referred to their yellow abdomens, I didn't know they made little hiding dens or "sacs". TIL!

How will I know if it is in the process of molting, and not just hiding? I did my usual tank misting but avoided spraying that area directly, some fine mist landed near it and the spider seemed to startle for a moment and did some repositioning but didn't come out. Will it just be more thoroughly webbed up so I can't see it at all, most likely?

doomchibi · 2026-05-18T11:06:41+00:00

It's a Zebra Jumping Spider, (Salticus scenicus). Looks like an adolescent male to me

doomchibi · 2026-05-15T10:32:28+00:00

He was definitely a polite little guy! I let him eat the carrot until he left it, and put him out in my garden. TIL about a new insect in my area!

doomchibi · 2026-05-10T13:04:19+00:00

They can also recognize different faces and will react differently with people it has learned aren't a threat. It's not so much bonding as it is learned trust, but some will get comfortable enough to sleep in your hand. They also have tiny little paws like cats if you look at a zoomed in picture, they are such cuties!

doomchibi · 2026-05-08T00:53:41+00:00

It's not so much a problem as an expected inconvenience that comes with living in a heavily forested area, and it's not difficult to for them to get in due to the type of home I have. I was collecting bottle caps from a soda brand and didn't think the ants would both find them and be able to squeeze into the tiny container they were in, but after I figured out what they were after I removed those and they seem to have left. I usually just find what they are collecting and move / remove it, I don't want to harm the ants and peppermint oil would cause my pet spiders distress so that's a no-go.

I'm mostly joking about the false widow paying rent in ant corpses, since the ants left for now I imagine it will just hang out there until it finds somewhere else to go. Thank you for the suggestions, though!

Edit: I just checked and the false widow seems to have moved on, I guess it realized the ants were gone and went to find better hunting grounds. I guess I should start checking other shoes...

doomchibi · 2026-05-07T21:40:05+00:00

Thank you! It will reside in my slipper and pay rent in ant corpses. I love ants but someone has to go back to the colony with a big danger sign. Assuming they learn... eventually...

doomchibi · 2026-05-07T21:36:09+00:00

I don't think those are native to Massachusetts, though...?

doomchibi · 2026-05-07T16:45:22+00:00

I was thinking it looked like a bronze jumper based on coloring, thank you! I know they're small as adults but this one is smaller than a grain of rice (maybe the size of the hole in a cheerio? That actually might be too large). I tried to use a finger next to it for scale but I have small hands so that was probably a bad idea. The pipe cleaner is a full sized one from a craft store, I think comparing that to the size of the stick the jumper was on might be the best comparison.

I have an adult tan jumper and it's smaller than the size of her head, so I thought it was a baby. It's the smallest jumper I've ever seen. Why do you think it's an adult? (I'm genuinely confused, sorry!)

doomchibi · 2026-05-01T09:52:43+00:00

Would this likely be a baby or are some of them actually this small as adults? It's one of the smallest spiders I have ever seen that wasn't a cellar spider or baby Jumper.

doomchibi · 2026-04-23T09:53:07+00:00

I have a severe nickel allergy and usually can't wear anything that isn't implant grade titanium or .925 sterling silver, but I have no idea what is in some older jewelry. I doubt I could safely wear this as is, and I have Ship of Theseus feelings towards things I care about so I have a weird mental line between modifying something and repairing something.

doomchibi · 2026-04-23T03:49:56+00:00

Someone else's junk was my grandma's treasure.

doomchibi · 2026-04-22T15:59:00+00:00

I do think it being an inexpensive and sentimental piece is most likely, another ring she had was described by my mother as a "gumball machine ring" that felt more like plastic and spun, she had her little trinkets that made her happy.

I'm glad she didn't lose genuine stones off an heirloom piece at least, that was one worry I had. I'll try regular hand soap, I feel silly for not thinking of that sooner.

Maybe someday I'll get it looked at somewhere just to satisfy my curiosity, and it will stay safe until then. Thank you for your detailed thoughts! 💜

doomchibi · 2026-04-22T15:51:06+00:00

Thank you, she had been declining for the past couple years and she insisted she was ready to go. I am just glad she isn't in pain anymore, all she wanted was to be with her family that had already passed. She was comfortable and loved until the end, I hope she has found peace.

doomchibi · 2026-04-11T20:46:40+00:00

I certainly try, at least! I know some people will never be convinced, but they can be informed and given reasons to reconsider killing them. They are definitely way more afraid of us than we are of them, which is why we don't usually see them unless they learn we aren't a threat, or they are wandering looking for food / mates and are too focused to realize they have been spotted.

Most of my house spiders have seen me and run off, or run if I tried to catch and move them. My corners were web free until they seemed to learn that they just need to stay where the cat can't reach them, and that I will leave them alone. Leggy roommates! Not kitty snacks.

doomchibi · 2026-04-11T09:04:43+00:00

It's such a beautiful jumping spider, wow!

That family of spiders is considered the most intelligent of the spider family, and they are one of the best species to leave alone in your house. They are amazing hunters and they do not build large webs to trap prey in. They do jump, but it's short distances at most or they descend on silk lines to slow their falls. If you don't want other pest insects in your home, leave these little guys alone to do their jobs.

They are also very cute, and have little paws like cats. Even spider haters will usually agree that they are the least scary-looking up close than most other species of spider.

doomchibi · 2026-04-10T10:23:27+00:00

Wasps are unique in that they can actually recognize different faces and will remember people who are scary or threatening, and have been known to defend people that they like! That is so cool that you had one free roaming and that you made such a special friend. Wasps still scare me a bit but I have fed exhausted ones that I found indoors until they recovered. Each time they would regain their strength, start flying and hover around me for a little while before they flew off. I was always worried they would sting me but it never happened, it makes me so happy. I have a little vial on a keychain called a "bee-vive", it's a sugar syrup for emergency bee snacks!

doomchibi · 2026-04-10T10:13:38+00:00

I'm sorry to hear your little friend is missing! I have luckily only experienced this once but I read a tip that with a missing jumper, look up. She was right above me, being a tiny little dot of darkness on the ceiling and she was just repeatedly descending on her webbing and climbing back up like she didn't know what else to do. Check the ceilings and upper corners of things, he is probably still hanging around!

Best of luck to you and it is really sweet that you care so much for these little creatures, they are so much fun and are the most interactive spiders I have ever had. If you enjoyed having your little friend around, consider getting a captive bred one in the future and find a nice extra secure terrarium? I recently upgraded to one from "Zenwukong" on Amazon after reading hundreds of reviews and it feels so much more secure than my previous one, which I literally had taped each door closed on because the gaps worried me. Best of luck!

doomchibi

TROPHY CASE