Exuding maggots

sam vimes · Aug 14, 2017

Keep maggots dry in maize meal or bran for any length of time and you'll find something akin to spider web with trapped particles in it. Am I right to think that the maggots must be exuding/excreting this stuff? Anyone know exactly what it is?

peter crabtree · Aug 14, 2017

I think it's skin the maggots shed as they shrink with age?

trotter2 · Aug 14, 2017

I thought it was just the maggots sweating which was causing the bran or sawdust to stick together?

sam vimes · Aug 14, 2017

trotter2 said:
I thought it was just the maggots sweating which was causing the bran or sawdust to stick together?

What I'm talking about isn't even moist. Definitely not down to sweating. It's more like a cobweb with small dry bits of maize/bran stuck to it.

Alan Tyler · Aug 14, 2017

My guess is that it would be fungal hyphae - threads of mould feeding on the maggot poop and/or dampened bran/meal, but I don't have access to a lab any more to check.

tigger · Aug 14, 2017

I've seen that stuff loads of times, i've never really taken any notice of it, it just gets lobbed in the swim with the maggots !

sam vimes · Aug 14, 2017

tigger said:
I've seen that stuff loads of times, i've never really taken any notice of it, it just gets lobbed in the swim with the maggots !

I'm not worried about it, just curious as to what it is.

tigger · Aug 14, 2017

sam vimes said:
I'm not worried about it, just curious as to what it is.

You know what curiosity did to the cat

sam vimes · Aug 14, 2017

Alan Tyler said:
My guess is that it would be fungal hyphae - threads of mould feeding on the maggot poop and/or dampened bran/meal, but I don't have access to a lab any more to check.

Interesting. Do maggots definitely defecate? My knowledge of such things is rather limited, but I was under the impression that some insect larvae, particularly those with a normally short larval stage, did little but eat, pupate and metamorphose.

dave m · Aug 14, 2017

i have had this in various feed stuff that i have used for boilie making and it also comes in maize bran.

its some sort of moth larvae that forms a soft cocoon around itself, and eventually the moth emerges.

maybe this one; Corn Moth Nemapogon granella - UKMoths

tigger · Aug 14, 2017

sam vimes said:
Interesting. Do maggots definitely defecate? My knowledge of such things is rather limited, but I was under the impression that some insect larvae, particularly those with a normally short larval stage, did little but eat, pupate and metamorphose.

I think everything that eats has a shyt Chris lol.

sam vimes · Aug 14, 2017

dave m said:
its some sort of moth larvae that forms a soft cocoon around itself, and eventually the moth emerges.

Another interesting one, but there's nothing in the middle of the mass. Pretty certain that there's no larvae or chrysalis, unless it's the size of a piece of bran.

---------- Post added at 22:30 ---------- Previous post was at 22:29 ----------

tigger said:
I think everything that eats has a shyt Chris lol.

Eventually.

dave m · Aug 14, 2017

sam vimes said:
Another interesting one, but there's nothing in the middle of the mass. Pretty certain that there's no larvae or chrysalis, unless it's the size of a piece of bran.

---------- Post added at 22:30 ---------- Previous post was at 22:29 ----------

Eventually.

its probably already come out and flown off, whats left is the silk holding some dust together.

i used to get these little bundles of certain bait ingredients and if i squashed them they went a bit wet as a bug got squished. if i sieved the ingredients i could sometimes find the little larae, like very slim maggots.
i was always very careful to store all the ingredients in separate sealable buckets so i know the larvae or eggs were already in the sacks when collected from the feed merchants.

sam vimes · Aug 14, 2017

dave m said:
its probably already come out and flown off, whats left is the silk holding some dust together.

Still dubious. I've never seen evidence of the moth in the fridge/baitbox. The substance isn't regular enough to be any kind of cocoon I've encountered before. The picture is of a fairly big lump, but it's gossamer thin. It starts as smaller bits that tends to coalesce with the action of the maggots moving.

trotter2 · Aug 14, 2017

No idea I usually just riddle that sh_t off and put some fresh sawdust in .

tigger · Aug 14, 2017

trotter2 said:
No idea I usually just riddle that sh_t off and put some fresh sawdust in .

Don't tell us you sing them a lullaby n'all

.

fishplate42 · Aug 15, 2017

I am no biologist but I am fairly sure it is the mycelium of the toxic (if ingested) fungus that forms rapidly in rice and bran if left damp at room temperature for any length of time. This is why you should not keep cooked rice left-overs at room temperature if intended to be eaten at a later date.

Ralph.

Philip · Aug 15, 2017

I also get the impression its the bran rather than the maggots that is causing it but I certainly dont claim any sort of indepth knowledge on the subject !

rayner · Aug 15, 2017

Seen this many times, I just pick it out and drop it on the bank. Never really given it a thought before or now.

trotter2 · Aug 15, 2017

tigger said:
Don't tell us you sing them a lullaby n'all .

Only for the ones that's been good Ian.
Any caught defecating get nowt mate.

Exuding maggots

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