One of our readers discovered a worm in his shower that he thought might be parasitic. We are confident that the creature is actually an earthworm. Earthworms aren’t considered to be dangerous or harmful, so our reader has nothing to worry about!

“A few days before” removing black larvae from her living room ceiling, this reader “had seen a rather large, dark, furry moth.” She believes the larvae to be moth fly larvae (otherwise known as drain fly larvae), but wonders if this moth, which was an inch in size and width, was indeed a mother moth fly, or something else entirely.

We recently received a seemingly straightforward question from a reader: “How did a Phoenix Worm end up in my toilet?” This question about Phoenix Worms, although refreshing in its brevity, is actually a little bit tricky to answer, as it gives rise to other questions: what is a Phoenix Worm exactly (hint: it’s not a worm), and could this creature possibly end up in a toilet? If not, then what is our reader finding in his toilet? Then again, if our reader did find a Phoenix Worm in his toilet, we only have one question to answer: how did it end up there?

Beetle larvae can be found in moist areas, compost piles, streams, slow moving waters, rivers, dams and lakes where they can find food easily.

We recently heard from a reader in Trenton, New Jersey. She explained that she took the cushions off of her couch and was horrified to find some “tiny worm-looking things.”

One reader of ours recently emailed us about some worm-like creatures that she found in her home. She is very creeped out by these creatures. She was moving furniture in her living room and she said she found a cluster of small worm-like bugs clustered together in an area near the floor boards. Most of them were black and some were a lot bigger than others. She also said that there were some smaller ones that were white and translucent in color. At first, she thought they were millipedes, but she said they moved very quickly and were difficult to kill. She did say that once she cleaned the area where they were, she has not seen one there since. She did not include a picture, but from the sound of it, these worm-like creatures could be centipedes.

“I have found these black, shiny worms […] weaving in and out of my couch under the cushions in the creases” says this reader about an unphotographed critter that has been causing her trouble. She asks if we can help identify them for her.

A reader just contacted us about some black insects he found in his vermicomposter. He wonders what they are, if they are harmful to his composting worms, and how he can safely remove them.

The shipworm is an interesting creature. It has a strong appetite for wood and the unusual ability to tunnel through it, creating the most unusual patterns and holes.

A few days ago we received a question through the All About Worms Facebook page from a reader whose dog had recently eaten several grubs, or beetle larvae. (“Grub” is a generic term that could theoretically refer to any of the hundreds of thousands of species of beetle larva, but it is often used by people to refer to the fat, white larvae on their lawns – “lawn grubs” – in particular.) The reader was made aware of her dog’s recent dietary choices after she (the dog) threw up grubs all over her back porch. (What is more disgusting than vomit? Larvae-filled vomit.) Not surprisingly, the reader was wondering if it is harmful or dangerous for dogs to eat grubs, which we now turn our attention to.

It is a well-known fact that moths can make their way into your clothes, stored or not, and eat holes…

A reader asked us how to get rid of webworms in oak trees. We have provided some insight on this scenario.

A reader recently wrote to us about a black worm she found on the wall of her house. The worm is also described as “slick” and is about four inches long. The reader’s house is on the east coast of Florida, in a town called Fort Pierce. So, the reader’s worm is from Florida – it is a Florida worm, if you will, although of course the worm she discovered might be found in any number of other places depending on what it is. The reader was also concerned if the worm is dangerous or harmful, as she has a nine-month-old baby in the house. What is this black, slick worm from Florida, and is it harmful?

A reader reached out to us because she found a mass of wriggling worms outside her home. We determined these “worms” to be Dark Wing Fungus Gnat larvae.

We decided to title this article with more or less the exact wording of an email we recently received from a reader. She reported that her “catalpa worms have white spikey things all over them,” and she is wondering what is going on. Something is clearly amiss with her Catawba worms. (For the record, Catalpa worms are Catawba worms and vice versa, as the words “Catalpa” and “Catawba” are interchangeable). The reader asked no additional questions, so we will focus only on the white spiky things on the Catalpa worms. We won’t worry about general matters of identification, presuming our reader is definitely dealing with Catawba worms, and we also won’t worry about ways to rectify the problem, which may not be possible anyway.

Just a couple of days ago we received a laconic email from a reader. He sent us a photo of what appears to be a caterpillar with one simple question: “Can you tell me what this is[?]” The caterpillar – if it is a caterpillar (and it probably is) – appears to be a bright color. It is perhaps yellow or maybe even entirely white. (The photo of the caterpillar is a bit hard to decipher, as you’ll soon see.) It also appears to be in the woods, or at least some natural setting with rocks, dirt, twigs, and similar such things. So, we have a seemingly simple question before us: what is the bright colored caterpillar in the woods?

A reader reached out to us about some drain fly larvae that have taken over her kitchen sink. To get rid of these larvae she will need to thoroughly clean out the sink and its drain. In the meantime, our reader should know that drain fly larvae are generally considered to be harmless since they aren’t known to transmit or carry any human diseases.

Worms whose color changes depending on their surroundings have been discovered all over the home of this woman in Fresno, CA. She asks if we can identify the worms as she is “freaking OUT.”

One of our readers found some brown worm-like organisms in his home. We believe these are carpet beetle larvae.

A reader writes to ask whether glowing green nightcrawlers are safe for turtles to eat. We’ve written previously about glowing green nightcrawlers, also known as glowworms, but this reader’s specific query, which we can surmise relates to a desire to expand a beloved pet turtle’s palate, has not been previously addressed. To that end, we’ve prepared a refresher on the nature of growing green nightcrawlers, as well as their suitability for animal consumption (we assume the possibility of human glowworm consumption is not of widespread interest). As you’ll see, some glowworms can probably be fed to pets and some cannot.