Given that playing with caterpillars is a great amusement (er, for children, that is), we are happy to report that playing with tent caterpillars is not very dangerous, as they are generally not poisonous (at least not to humans). However, tent worms do have small hairs on their bodies that can be irritating to people and animals. If a child is experiencing irritation, most likely on the skin, this may be due to him or her playing with tent caterpillars.

Tent caterpillars can also cause problems beyond mere skin irritation in animals. For example, a large number of mares in Kentucky were being afflicted by a phenomenon known as Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome, which causes pregnancy failures in female horses, and this was attributed to an outbreak of tent caterpillars.

As we have seen, tent caterpillars aren’t very harmful to humans, and only in rare instances do they negatively affect animals. To us sentient beings, there isn’t much to fear when it comes to interacting with tent caterpillars, but this is emphatically not the case with trees and plants, which can be severely compromised by tent caterpillars. A tent caterpillar infestation can wreck havoc on tress, gardens, and crops, making them a huge pest for landscapers, gardeners, and farmers. Tent caterpillars have enormous appetites and they eat vegetation until there is basically nothing left. Despite the damage they can cause, it is worth noting that trees can be surprisingly resilient in the face of an infestation. Tent caterpillars cause trees to defoliate, which is a problem, but an established tree can withstand 25 percent defoliation without succumbing to any problems. Newer and smaller trees, on the other hand, can be damaged by lesser infestations, so it is important to address a tent caterpillar infestation soon after discovering it if you are dealing with trees that aren’t fully developed.

To conclude, caterpillars do not present a significant risk to humans per se, but they can affect things that people care about, namely, their animals and their plants. Thus, in an indirect way, tent caterpillars can harm humans, but not the way our reader was concerned about.

First, an inchworm is not actually a worm – it is a caterpillar, the larva of a moth. Alternatively called measuring worms, cankerworms, spanworms, and loopers, inchworms generally measure between one centimeter and one inch (an inchworm is quite literally an inch worm). They come in many different colors – ranging from pale and reddish greens to brown and black hues – and they have stripes that run down their sides and back. Often, their heads are a pale green color and are covered with black spots. Inchworms are hairless and smooth, and several species have patterns on their bodies that help them mimic plants. With this information, you should be able to spot inchworms, which are abundantly present in North America.

As we mentioned above, inchworms can cause considerable damage to trees and plants. However, before moving on, it is worth mentioning that a small, controlled number of inchworms are not necessarily harmful, so if you see an inchworm in your garden, you needn’t immediately panic. That said, inchworms are a nuisance in large numbers, and this is easy enough to see when you look at an infested plant, which will have small holes between its veins thanks to the inchworms relentless feeding. And that is exactly what you must keep in mind when evaluating an inchworm threat: they damage vegetation by consuming it, so it is no surprise that a few inchworms is nothing to be too concerned about, while a large number is something that needs to be addressed.

An inchworm infestation left unchecked can become a serious problem because female moths (i.e., the mothers of inchworms) lay eggs in the fall and spring. Populations of inch worms can skyrocket quickly. But the question remains: how do you control an inchworm infestation?

First, there are preventative measures one can take to protect against an infestation, and one of the main ways involves fighting nature with nature. Inchworms have a number of natural predators, so if you allow these creatures – insects like yellow jackets, wasps, and ground beetles, as well as animals like birds – to flourish in your garden, yard, or crop field, they can keep the inchworm population in check. There are also natural diseases, like wilt disease, that afflict inch worms, and these help control inchworms too.

If these natural lines of defense fail you and you are stuck with an infestation, you may have to turn to other remedies, which are beyond the scope of this article.

It should first be noted that many different worms live in trees and other plants, and not all of them are harmful to the vegetation on which they dwell. For example, Catawba worms are often found on catalpa trees, and even though they can defoliate these trees three times in a single summer, there does not appear to be any major damage done to the tree. Even so, many people grow catalpa trees to use its excellent wood for fine wood creations, and if the trees are grown for this purpose, a Catawba-worm infestation might lead to problems. On the other hand, Catawba worms make excellent fish bate, so some people plant catalpa trees specifically to attract Catawba worms.

All of this talk about Catawba worms serves only to make a general point: trees are a natural habitat for many different types of worms, and their presence on your trees can be viewed as good or bad depending on the ends that you seek. This applies to our reader’s red worms as much as it applies to any other tree worms you may find.

Anyway, what are those red worms? As always, it’s impossible to tell without directly observing them, but these worms sound like fall webworms, which are actually small caterpillars that will eventually grow into white moths that go by the scientific name Hyphantria cunea. Fall webworms create webs on the branches and foliage of trees near the end of the summer or at the start of the fall. They are native to North America and can be found from Mexico to Canada.

Webworms fall off trees into the foliage at its base as winter approaches to pupate during the cold months of the year. (Some also burrow into the tree bark.) In the spring, the white adult moths surface and lay eggs on the underside of leaves. After a few days, the eggs hatch. The larvae that emerge are the red worms that our reader is referring to in his question, assuming he is in fact dealing with webworms. It’s worth mentioning that webworms are not a uniform color – indeed, their coloration varies widely – but they can be red.

The good thing about webworms is that they will not harm trees, at least as long as the trees are healthy, so they aren’t necessary to get rid of if you don’t have the time or inclination to do so. They can affect the appearance of a tree by causing them to defoliate, although the leaves will grow back during the spring.

If you are really worried about the late-summer/early-fall appearance of your tree, there are a few ways to get rid of them. The webs that webworms create can be broken through (with, for example, a rake), thus allowing natural predators to get at the caterpillars, and you can also eliminate some by pruning the ends of branches.

Let’s begin with what these worms might be. As most people who have walked outside after a rainstorm know, there are often tons of worms on the sidewalk, street, and driveway. Why does this occur? Since worms are susceptible to drying out, which inhibits their ability to breath, they normally come out of ground only at night (you know, when that massive, burning-hot orb isn’t out). That’s why we call earthworms “nightcrawlers.” However, when it rains during the day, worms can come out – often for mating purposes – because the ground is wet, and hence they are not as susceptible to desiccation. They are basically seizing a rare moment for daytime sex.

So, it’s a widely observed phenomenon that worms come out of the ground when it rains, and there is a fairly straightforward reason for this occurring. But this may not address our reader’s question because, one, she emphasized that the worms are small (often an inch long or shorter), two, she said that they smell, and three, she said that this hasn’t occurred before.

Unfortunately, without more information, it’s really difficult to be sure what sort of worm or worm-like creature this reader is dealing with. The earthworms that come out after it rains are very often larger than an inch (indeed, they can be several inches long), and in our experience, the worms generally don’t carry any particular odor (although this is possible). In fact, it often smells very good after it rains for reasons that don’t concern us presently.

Of course, other types of worms can emerge from the ground after it rains – for example, you can often find potworms in your garden or compost after it rains – but it would be slightly strange to see these worms, let alone thousands of them, exclusively on your driveway after a rain storm.

It’s also possible that our reader is dealing with a particularly large amount of millipedes or centipedes. People have reported these creatures coming out in droves before, and they can be quite a problem, especially if they migrate into your garage or house.

Finally, it’s entirely possible that what she is seeing aren’t worms at all – this particular reader doesn’t make mention of them moving, for example – and it could be that what she is seeing is the seed or other castings from a nearby tree, which would explain the unusual observation of them having a smell.

So, the question is: what type of worm is this?

Well, it’s hard to say. The first thing to be said about this worm is that it may not be a worm at all. In fact, based on the description above, it sounds a lot like a caterpillar – that is, the larvae of butterflies and moths.

Worms and caterpillars share a number of characteristics, so it can be hard to tell them apart. Many species of worms and caterpillars have cylindrical bodies that are segmented, and both serve as a food source for many animals. Because they serve as a food source for other animals, some types of worms and caterpillars have defense mechanisms that help them ward off predators. These characteristics, along with a host of others, make it hard to tell the difference between worms and caterpillars. So, it’s altogether understandable that our reader confused the two.

However, even assuming that the long, black, spiky creature described above is in fact a caterpillar, this doesn’t limit our search very extensively, as there are more than 20,000 known species of caterpillar, and there are believed to be many more undiscovered species in the world. We found a couple of caterpillars that roughly resembled the species described above – the Grammia arge, the larva of the arge moth, as well as the Cucullia alfarata, the larva of the Camphorweed Cucullia moth – but neither of these was a perfect match, and besides that, both of these species are found in North America.

Unfortunately, we must ultimately say that we are unsure what worm or caterpillar the reader found in the yard. However, we can point him or her to this helpful website, which allows you to search through some species of caterpillar on the basis of their characteristics.

Here is the website: http://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?guide=Caterpillars

Hope that helps!

Well, you clearly aren’t familiar with the many uses of worms! Indeed, worms can be used for a number of different purposes, ranging from compost, as in the case with worms factories, to pet food.

To truly appreciate the utility of worms, a survey of their many uses is in order. Once we convince you that worms can be purchased, we’ll point you to a few places that sell worms online.

(1) Worms are incredibly good at turning everyday, unprocessed compost (like kitchen scraps, rotten food, etc.) into rich compost that can be used for activities like gardening. Red Wigglers are particularly adept at this, but other worms can be used too.

(2) As this first point implies, worms are good at producing nutrient-rich compost, so worms are also used to enhance soil without the help of chemical fertilizers.

(3) Wild birds eat worms; people like to see wild birds. Therefore, people who want to see wild birds might be inclined to buy some worms and lay them out for birds to feast upon. Be sure to only do this in the shade, though, as we all know what happens (and quickly) to worms left in the sun.

(4) As any son who has been on a fishing trip with his dad knows, worms can be used as bait for fish. You might think it extravagant to purchase worms for fishing – after all, how hard is it to turn over a couple of rocks and grab some worms – but if you’re in a hurry and it hasn’t rained recently, it might behoove you to buy some worms on your way to the ocean, lake, or river.

(5) Tons of pets eat worms, and not just obscure pets. Do you ever wonder what people feed their small birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish? Worms! Also, some people raise fish for commercial purposes, and they too will often feed their stock worms.

(6) Last but certainly not least, some people buy worms to incorporate into their cooking! Yes, really!

So, there are six different reasons people might buy worms, and maybe you are now convinced that you too should buy some worms. Where might you go to purchase worms? Here are a few places where you can buy worms online:

Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm
Featured on Oprah, Uncle Jim’s takes their worms seriously. They sell Super Red Worms and Red Wrigglers.

The Worm Farm
The Worm Farm, another good place to buy worms online, sells Redworms, European Nightcrawlers, and Dendras.

EarthWorms 4 Sale
EarthWorms 4 Sale has a relatively large selection, offering Redworms, African Nightcrawlers, European Nightcrawlers, Canadian Nightcrawlers, and Alabama Jumpers.

Worm factories are built like dressers, with the bottom drawer housing the rich, ready-to-use compost.

Here’s how they work: Let’s say you just bought a new worm factory – who wants to deal with a used worm factory? – and, just to make this a more pleasant hypothetical, let’s say you bought the worm factory on sale. First, you would remove the bottom tray and fill it with the compost you accumulate throughout the day – things like leftovers and rotted food. According to some advertisements, worm farms can even process things like junk mail and cardboard.

After the tray is loaded, add several worms to it. The worms will go to work on the waste, slowly converting it into nutrient-rich compost as they digest whatever you threw in there. The worm factory not only produces worm castings (also known as vermicast, worm humus, or worm manure), but also a liquid nutrient called leachate. The leachate is formed by moisture trickling through the worm factory. The liquid collects nutrients as it trickles downward, and the final product is collected in a separate tray.

Once the bottom tray is full and crawling with worms, add another tray of compost to the factory. Once the worms exhaust the original food source in the bottom tray, they will migrate upward, starting the process all over in the tray above. Not only are worms creating more compost this way, they are also removing themselves from the tray that has the ready-to-use compost in it.

There are a variety of different worm-factory models made by a variety of different companies. Which factory you choose will depend on how much organic waste you want to convert into nutrient-rich compost. You may also be influenced by aesthetics: some worm factories are black, some are red; some are tall with many shelves, others are short with only a shelf or two. However, they all serve the same function: to efficiently convert unprocessed compost into nutrient-rich compost for your garden.

Amazon offers a well-reviewed Worm Farm for sale here:

Worm Factory 360 WF360G Worm Composter – Green

Worms need a moist environment for survival, and they must also remain close to their food supply. Worms eat leaves and dead grass, which contain organisms that provide a healthy diet of bacteria, algae, and fungi. Worms feast on dirt as well, especially if they live deeper inside the earth. Worms also eat plants, fruits, and vegetables. The worm’s moist and sustenance rich environment plays an extremely important role in reproduction as well. Worms prefer to mate and reproduce in warm moist soil, away from the light.

Earthworms can be found in just about every corner of the earth. They live in trees, in bark, and under rocks as well as along rivers, near springs, and in ponds. Their favorite place to live, however, is burrowed inside the earth’s rich soil. During the winter months they burrow deep within the earth until the surface warms again during the spring. During the warm summer months, worms stay closer to the tops of soil where they create tunnels to wiggle in and out of. This allows air to get to the plant roots.

Without the worm’s tunneling action, called “aeration,” the earth’s trees, plants, fruits, and vegetables would not survive. In addition to aerating the soil, which keeps plants alive, worms also eat organic matter, digest it, and excrete the digested material. Worms eat so much that they typically produce digested material equal to their own weight every 24 hours. This digested material is called castings. The castings are rich with much needed phosphorus, calcium, and potassium.

Earthworms belong to one of several different types of ecological groups. There are three broad ecological groups that have been identified for earthworms including epigeic, endogeic, and anecic. The groups are based on what the earthworms eat and where they tend to live in the soil. The epigeic group is a litter feeder and dweller, pigmented, small in size, and it doesn’t burrow. The endogeic group consists of rich soil feeders, topsoil dwellers, has no pigmentation, burrows horizontally, and it is small in size. The anecic consists of litter and soil feeders, soil dwellers, dorsally pigmented bodies, extensive vertical burrows, and a large size. Size and color are usually good distinguishers for adult earthworms.

The clitellum of adult earthworms contains features called genital tumescence, and tubercula pubertatis. The clitellum features, the male pores, and female pores are found above the clitellum and are all parts of the earthworm reproductive system. The earthworm has “setae” which are tiny hair-like projections that are arranged in rows along the earthworm body. The setae are used for locomotion by the earthworm.

Worms have no lungs, so they breathe through their skin. This means that the worm’s environment and skin must be moist at all times. This allows the worm to breathe in oxygen. If the worm’s skin dries out, the worm will die from suffocation. While worms need moisture to survive, too much moisture can be fatal. If too much water is present, it takes the place of oxygen, which will cause the worms to flee to the surface. Once on the surface, worms will be exposed to sunlight. If worms remain in the sunlight for too long, they can become paralyzed.

Although you cannot see them, believe it or not, worms do have mouths. The earthworm mouth is called the prostomium. The worm’s mouth is actually big enough and powerful enough to grab a leaf and drag it around. They also have a pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard and intestine. When the worm eats its food, it pulls the materials into its mouth with the help of the pharynx and its prostomium (also called acron). This creates a suction motion. This suction motion aids in helping the worm consume large amounts of food in a sort amount of time. The gizzard grinds the food.

About Inchworms

An inchworm is the larvae of moths, of the family Geometridae (phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Lepidoptera). This large, widely diffused group has more than 1,200 species indigenous to North America. Some inchworms (also “inch worm”) are considered average while others are considered extraordinary. Inch worms do, however, have many common characteristics. They have smooth, hairless bodies, and they typically grow up to one inch in length. Their colors run the gamut from brown and black to bright green.

Also referred to as loopers, measuring worms, and spanworms, inchworms have three pairs of legs at the front end and two to three pairs of prolegs or larval abdominal appendages at the rear. Inchworms travel by drawing their hind end forward while gripping the earth with its prolegs. They have the ability to stand erect and motionless when poked or prodded in any way.

Much like spiders, some inch worms have the ability produce thin delicate lines. In some cases, these thin lines are made of silk. It just so happens that one of the most destructive types of inchworms, called cankerworms, produces soft silk threads as they drop from trees to evade predators. Also called measuring worms, cankerworms vary in color, but their bodies consist of long horizontal stripes. Cankerworms feed on shrub foliage and tree foliage. These creatures like to hang out in apples, elms, oaks, lindens, sweetgums, and a wide variety of other shade and fruit trees.

Another type of inch worm, also called Looper and Cabbage Looper, overwinters as green to brown pupae tightly wrapped in cocoons (not webs) of white thread. In the spring, the adult moth emerges. The adult lays its eggs, typically on the surface of leaves. Once the larvae emerge, they feed for two to four weeks. Once they’ve had their fill, the larvae spin cocoons similar to the ones used during the overwinter process. The larvae prefer vegetable gardens and they eat a variety of crops including: celery, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, Brussels sprouts, beans, parsley, broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, and peas.

Unfortunately, larvae eating habits cause massive destruction to food crop foliage. Simply put, larvae will eat as many holes as they can in the leaves of all kinds. Fortunately, there are several ways to control larvae/inchworm infestations. Trichogramma wasps are natural predators as well as birds, yellow jackets and paper wasps. They are also controlled by natural diseases and parasites. Wilt disease causes the worms body to rot. This usually happens late in the season. “Bacillus thuringiensis,” a wilt pathogen, is available to gardeners to help control infestations.

Insect larvae such as the larvae of the Indian meal moth will not disrupt your system. If you want to avoid eating anymore of these protein packed creatures, simply check the inside of any boxed food products before preparing the contents to cook. All you have to do is pour the contents into a large mixing bowl and sift through it or pour the contents into a strainer and sift. The same goes for pet food, as meal moths tend to lay eggs in bags or boxes of cat and dog food as well.

So what exactly is an Indian meal moth? The Indian meal moth’s scientific name is Plodia interpunctata Huber, order Lepidoptera. The moths are 3/8 to ½-inch long with two-toned wings folded over its back. The wings are pale gray with reddish-brown ends. The caterpillars are off-white with brown heads and they grow to ½-inches long. The caterpillars may become greenish, pinkish, yellowish or brownish in color.

The female Indian meal moth lays its eggs in suitable larval food. It may take from 27-305 days for the egg to develop into an adult. Seven or eight generations may occur in a year. The caterpillars hatch from eggs and produce silk tunnels to protect themselves while feeding. Larval development varies depending on type of food and temperature. The caterpillars have chewing mouthparts that chew through Indian meal, flour, whole wheat, cornmeal, shelled corn, dried fruit, seeds, crackers, biscuits, nuts, powdered milk, chocolate, candy, red peppers, and all types of pet food.

While medically harmless, finding moths flying around the home can be annoying. This is an indication of a breeding population in the home. The caterpillars can also be found crawling on ceilings and walls in search of a place to spin a cocoon. When found in food, you might also notice the caterpillars’ loose silk mat on the top surface of the food.

Not to be mistaken for the clothes moth (Lepidoptera: Tineidae) which does not have two-tones wings, but rather uniform gray wings, the Indian meal moth is easy to destroy. All it takes is time and patience. If you suspect that you might have an Indian meal moth infestation, check all opened boxed (or plastic bag) food in your pantry for moths, caterpillars or webbing. If you find any of the three, discard the food. This means throw it in a garbage bag and take it outside immediately.

For any remaining unopened food products, put them in the freezer until you are ready to use. Keep in mind that freezing for a few days kills all stages of the moth. It’s unlikely that the moths can penetrate through cardboard boxes, but it is possible for them to chew through very thin plastic. Don’t forget to check all shelving and surrounding areas in your pantry and cupboards.

If you need some help with locating the infestation, pheromone traps may be helpful. The traps can help locate the general area of the infestation down to a room or a closet. They might even help to eliminate small infestations. Pheromone traps will last anywhere from one to three months. Simply place them in several locations for maximum benefits. Continue to replace the traps until you notice that the traps are free from captured months.

Note: Using insecticides in the kitchen or pantry is dangerous, so be thorough in your search for the Indian meal moth and you will be successful at eliminating them without having to resort to using harmful chemicals.

Earthworms are just the opposite of poisonous. These mellow creatures play a significant part in the survival of plants, flowers, and trees. Without them, the earth’s trees, plants, fruits, and vegetables would not survive. Worms do several things for the earth. They aerate the soil, which means they dig tunnels in the soil, which allows air to get to the plant roots. Worms also eat organic matter, digest it, and excrete the digested material. This digested material is called castings. The castings are rich with phosphorus, calcium, and potassium.

Worm castings are so valuable and ten times richer in nutrients that commercial topsoil, that many gardeners and farmers use the composting method to fertilize plants and crops. Worm castings also help create channels within the layers of the earth’s soil, which helps to hold water better and keep moisture in the soil longer.

Earthworm Facts

•There are more than 4,400 different types of worms in existence today. Of the 4,400 species, there are 2,700 species of earthworm. There are more than 1,200 species of another type of worm called the inchworm.

•Earthworms belong to one of several different types of ecological groups. There are three broad ecological groups that have been identified for earthworms including: epigeic, endogeic, and anecic. The groups are based on what the earthworms eat and where they tend to live in the soil. The epigeic group is a litter feeder, litter dweller, pigmented, small in size, and it doesn’t burrow. The endogeic group consists of rich soil feeders, topsoil dwellers, has no pigmentation, burrows horizontally, and it is small in size. The anecic consists of litter and soil feeders, soil dwellers, dorsally pigmented bodies, extensive vertical burrows, and a large size. Size and color are usually good distinguishers for adult earthworms.

•Earthworms can be found in just about every corner of the earth. They live in trees, in bark, and under rocks as well as along rivers, near springs, and in ponds. Their favorite place to live, however, is burrowed inside the earth’s rich soil. During the winter months they burrow deep within the earth until the surface warms again during the spring. During the warm summer months, worms stay closer to the tops of soil where they create tunnels to wiggle in and out of. These tunnels are extremely important for plant life as they create a path for water and air, which is essential for the survival of plant life.

•The clitellum of adult earthworms contains features called genital tumescence, and tubercula pubertatis. The clitellum features, the male pores, and female pores are found above the clitellum and are all parts of the earthworm reproductive system.

•The earthworm has “setae” which are tiny hair-like projections that are arranged in rows along the earthworm body. The setae are used for locomotion by the earthworm.

•Places like China, Australia, Greenland, and the Sahara Desert have their own indigenous species of earthworms. Besides the Sahara Desert, you won’t find large numbers of worms living in “sandy” areas, especially sandy beaches. The vast majority of worms on our planet can only survive under certain environmental conditions.

•Worms have no lungs, so they breathe through their skin. This means that the worm’s environment and skin must be moist at all times. This allows the worm to breathe in oxygen. If the worm’s skin dries out, the worm will die from suffocation. While worms need moisture to survive, too much moisture can be fatal. If too much water is present, it takes the place of oxygen, which will cause the worms to flee to the surface. Once on the surface, worms will be exposed to sunlight. If worms remain in the sunlight for too long, they can become paralyzed.

•In addition to needing a moist environment for survival, worms must also remain close to their food supply. Worms feed off of leaves and dead grass, which contain organisms that provide a healthy diet of bacteria, algae, and fungi. Worms feast on dirt as well, especially if they live deeper inside the earth. Worms also eat plants, fruits and vegetables.

•Although you cannot see them, believe it or not, worms do have mouths. The earthworm mouth is called the prostomium. The worm’s mouth is actually big enough and powerful enough to grab a leaf and drag it around. They also have a pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard and intestine. When the worm eats its food, it pulls the materials into its mouth with the help of the pharynx and its prostomium (also called acron). This creates a suction motion. This suction motion aids in helping the worm consume large amounts of food in a sort amount of time. The gizzard grinds the food.

•Worms eat so much that they typically produce excrement equal to their own weight every 24 hours.

•The worm’s moist sustenance rich environment plays an extremely important role in reproduction as well. Worms prefer to mate and reproduce in warm moist soil, away from the light.