Build a terrarium with scorpions, armored beetles and other insects, and this is what happens 100 days later

Dr Plants is a youtube channel specialized in terrariums. In one of his most spectacular videos, we can see what happens in an arid desertthroughout 100 dayswhen filled with insects, arthropods and others animals.

All biologists agree that if a catastrophe ever occurs on Earth, the best chances of survival are insects, arthropods and the like.

It can be guessed why if we observe this curious terrarium of Dr Plantswhich works like a desert, with temperatures of 44 degrees Celsius for the daycold at night, and only a few rainy days a year.

100 days of life in the desert

The terrarium is built with a substrate layer at the bottom, sandand different types of cacti and plants that grow in the desert.

To start the ecosystem, added isopodsthe popular ones mealybugs, a type of crustacean with terrestrial variants, and more than 10,000 different species. Specifically, the zebra and clown variants arrived at the terrarium.

Also introduced springtailsa type of arthropod, and beetleswhich devour all the debris they find.

After 50 days, beetles and mealybugs had colonized the entire desert, thanks to the abundant substrates and plants. Curiously, the clown mealybugs almost disappeared, unlike the zebras.

There was too much population in such a small space, so they decided to introduce a dune scorpion. They are almost blind, but very poisonous.

The scorpion dug a burrow to the bottom of the terrarium, and there it spent the daylight hours. At night he would go hunting for woodlice and beetles.

It soon became clear that the scorpion was not going to be enough, with so many insects and beetles. You don’t need a lot of food to live.

So they added more rivals: the desert armored beetlewith armor impenetrable by the scorpion.

came then the rainy season. flourished the rose of jerichoand in a corner of the terrarium was formed A pond. There something amazing happened: eggs hidden in the sand gave life to hundreds of shrimpand an animal that seems brought from prehistory: the triops.

The days go by, and little by little the pond dries up. These aquatic beings deposit their eggs before dying, which are stored in the sand. And the cycle of life begins again.

The full video is well worth watching, it’s only 9 minutes long and it’s a fascinating spectacle:

The Dr. Plants channel has many other terrariums of different types, and in all of them things can be learned.

Even in harsh environments like the desertthis terrarium reminds us how life flourishes in all corners of the planet. in solo 100 days.