Need your help! What is this bug?

I was going to keep it in a second container to see what it is. Should I just kill it instead?

How should I kill it? I'm guessing if it's like a work then just hacking it up might not work. Should I burn it?

Preserve it. If anything, put it in a vial of alcohol and take it to a university.

Ew! Are you for real? (I'm being serious...)

What kinda of alcohol?

Preserving it (rubbing alcohol is fine for short term) and letting a university have it could be important to research.

that is a better idea. still, wash out the cage, there might be eggs.(If that whatever it is even lays eggs!)

I'm waiting for the company I bought the mealworms from(grubco.com) to respond back. If they want the bug(I'm sure they want to know what has invaded their mealworms), then I'll send it to them, otherwise I'll go ahead and take it to a university. ;)

I'm trying to come up with some info on this thing, but it's tough. There are two well known parasites of mealworms: grain mites and gregarina spp. It isn't grain mites. And Gregarines are an intestinal protozoan parasite which simply don't get that large, nor does their life cycle involve that sort of development.

One possibility is it could be an odd development of a type of tapeworm or bladderworm.

Echinococcus (whose entire length averages .25") form what are called hydatid cysts, in which the protoscolices form. Perhaps this mealworm was infected and the "bubble" is a hydatid cyst containing a coernus (bladderworm)?

There are known tapeworms/bladderworms in the family Hymenolepidae that use beetles (I'm not certain of larva or adult) as an intermediate host.

In a study by Stein and Kuchenmeister, they noted that upon ingestion of tapeworm embryos by a mealworm, the embryos had bored through the intestinal wall and upon reaching the general body cavity, formed cysts which contained developing tapeworm heads. (Read about it here, page 28 *pdf file).

In the same book (above), they note that the young bladder worm (of Echinococcus) causes irritation in the immediate area causing new formation of cells in the connective tissue of the part affected, resulting in what is called an "adventitious fibrous capsule" or sac, which envelopes the parasite itself. (page 39-40)

I can't help but wonder if that is exactly what we're seeing here, albeit outside (at least mostly outside) the body (likely protruding between segments). Keep in mind that I'm not a parasitologist nor do I specialize in that niche of entomology. I'm really a lepidoptera, vespidae, general entomology person and I'm just trying to help posit some possibilities and maybe get some leads on what this is. I still suggest letting a university have it, so that they can examine it. GrubCo may or may not do anything with it, and you may not get back results from them if they do know what it is. I'm sure they have a PR image to care for, whereas the university does not have a vested interest regardless of what it is. And if you do find out what it is, please come back here and post to let us know. I know I'd sure like to know for certain. :)

Wow that's alot of info! I don't know anything about bugs and parasites, lol.

It it IS an internal parasite that bored out through the intestinal wall, then that means that my sugar gliders may have eaten an infested mealie and could now have tapeworms? :( This is really worrying me. I could care less abou the mealies, I can always get new ones, but if this effects my gliders in any way then I can gaurantee that Grubco is not going to get away with this! I'm going to make them pay out the nose! My gliders are my "babies"!

Thank you for all that info, I'm going to print it out and give it to whoever I give the worm to. I think you're right, I shouldn't give it to Grubco. They'll probably just toss it out!

Sorry to ask yet another favor from you all, but could you help me find a university nearby to take/send the infected mealie to? I haven't the slightest idea how to go about getting a university to look at this "thing". I live in Addison, IL.

BTW, do you think maybe I should give it to a vet nearby instead? If it IS a tapeworm then they could tell me right away as well as tell me if it could have gotten to my gliders.

J.D. Roberts- can I have permission to copy/paste what you typed and post it on a glider forum? I'm trying to keep them posted on any info I get, but I can't post cut/paste stuff there without permission from whoever types it. :\ It's a weird rule, lol.

I would use the University of Illinois. They have a big entomology department at the campus in the Urbana area. I know that's a bit of a drive for you, but you could also call them and explain the situation and they'll probably give you a name and address where you can mail it to them if you don't wish to drive there.

I wouldn't take it to the vet though. At least, if you do, I wouldn't let them keep it, and even if they ID it, I would still give it to the university for confirmation. The vet may be able to help out, which would be quicker than the university (they can take a while to get back to you), but the university will be more thorough. Although, if you're concerned about your sugar gliders (I just realized what those are - cute little critters), I would take them to the vet just to be safe. The vet could very likely detect the parasite if they're infected (if that's even what it is).

And yes, you have my permission to copy/paste what I've written. I hope it helps.

Thanks! I'll give the university a call. ;)

Well, I'll sift through my mealies and see if there are any more that look this the one I found. I was going to sift through them last night, but didn't have time. If I have more then one then I guess I can send one to each place. ;)

I'll post what you typed on the glider forum and see what they think.

Thanks again for all your help!

Also, just in case anyone pipes in to say that it's not a tapeworm, make sure to refer them to the study by Stein et al, and that they understand that the tapeworm they're most likely thinking of (such as that found in rescue dogs & cats, and in livestock & humans, etc.) is an entirely different species (and genus ... and in some cases different family). Unless they're educated in Echinococcus worms and other invertebrate parasites as well as the relationship between vertebrate parasites and their intermediate invertebrate hosts ... they will not know what they're talking about. I just don't want someone to lure you into comfort with false and uninformed info and then your gliders pay the price ... just in case. (Not that I'm trying to panic you - just better safe than sorry)

Argh! Did you HAVE to say that?

Back to worrying... :(

I don't mean to make you worry. Remember, I'm not a parasitologist. So my suggestions are just that ... suggestions. It is a fact that several species of tapeworm/bladderworm can be parasitic in mealworms, and it does seem that Stein et al described incredibly similar situations with the "adventitious fibrous capsule" formed as a result. But it could very well turn out to be some benign condition or harmless oddity. I just prefer to err on the side of caution and fastidiously cover all possibilities, and it occurred to me that people may get confused about tapeworms, hence my previous comment. But I'm pretty sure your vet can do a fecal sample examination (it may take more than one) and detect any infection in your gliders. Best of luck. :)

- Hopefully I am wrong. :) I think the odds are in your favor though.

Minor problem...

WHICH rubbing alcohol do I use? lol

There are 3 kinds at the store: Isopropyl 70%, isopropyl 91%, and Ethyl rubbing alcohol. :\

Just wondering if you ever heard back from the university? I know it can take a while sometimes, but I'm curious to see if this gets resolved.

If it makes you feel better, the more I look into this, I'm starting to doubt that it's a parasite. I'm looking into the possibility that it's some genetic fluke. Perhaps in early development, the intestine of the mealie somehow protruded outside (potentially between the abdominal segments) and the body may have formed a cyst around it (the "injury") to essentially protect it and continue developing. This may be a long shot, but it would certainly be better than a parasite if it's the case. Please don't forget to update us once you hear something from the University. All of us Ento types are interested.

70% is fine for short term.

UPDATE!

Sorry I never updated ya'll. :(

I just wanted to let you know that I send the mealie of to the university and after about a month the guy emailed me and said it wasn't actually a parasite, but that it was an intestine that had burst through the mealworm's body and, rather then instantly killing the worm, it developed a fatty sac/cyst which protected the intestine and allowed the worm to live.

The reason it looks like it's segmented it because when it burst through the outer layer of the mealworm it developed the impressions from the mealworm's skin, this making it look segmented.

:)