One of our readers found a ton of small worm-like organisms in her car. We are confident these are moth larvae. They are not harmful or dangerous and she can get rid of them by cleaning! Continue reading [...]…

"Liver and lung and skin flukes" have been plaguing this grandmother and her five-year old grandson. As both of the victims of this parasite are fighting this infection, the grandmother reports that her lungs are "not looking good" and that her grandson's gall bladder is in need of surgery. Continue reading [...]…

One of our readers discovered two specimens on her bed: case bearing clothes moth larvae and carpet beetle larvae. Both of these larvae are considered to be household pests, so it is important that our reader begin cleaning to get rid of them ASAP to keep the damage to a minimum. Continue reading [...]…

"What is this?" asks Shannon about the plethora of tiny, gray worm-like critters pictured below. "It was right inside the house by the sliding glass door." Despite the lack of context, this is one of those instances where we can tell what these are based merely on the photos. This tight cluster of gray worms with black heads, next to the group of translucent ball-shaped objects, could only be American ermine moth caterpillars, otherwise known as white ermine moth caterpillars. Continue reading [...]…

"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. Continue reading [...]…

A reader just sent us a photo and asked us to identify the "worm that looks like a snake, yellow color with gray V-shape". We agree that this specimen does resemble a snake more than a worm. Continue reading [...]…

We received a rather heart-breakingly desperate letter from a mother who is worried about herself and her 2-year-old daughter. They live in Walker County, AL and she is convinced that they are both infested by worms or another parasite. The symptoms she lists include: Continue reading [...]…

"This one centimeter-long worm-like creature was found in my mother's tub today and on a few previous occasions", says this reader about the segmented, green-gray creature in the photograph below. Our reader's mother is concerned that these are pinworms, and our reader wonders if we can verify whether or not these are millipedes, centipedes or indeed pinworms. Continue reading [...]…

"Is this an elephant hawk moth caterpillar?" asks Julia in her submission regarding the gray-green creature pictured below; it has a pattern of dots and circles on its back, as well as two big eye spots on its head. "I live in southwest Florida, right on the water. My daughter and I found this guy outside on the hot pavement, in quite a hurry. So we picked him up and placed him in the shade under a tree. I have looked and looked and can't find any sightings of them anywhere near South FL. But he sure did have an elephant snout and the same markings. Is this guy really lost, or am I misidentifying? PS. Thanks for all you do! I've submitted questions several times. Even when you couldn't directly help, your suggestions did." Continue reading [...]…

"Is this a case-bearing clothes moth?" asks this reader in her submission regarding the silver moth pictured below. "I'm in Georgia. Thank you for your time." Now, while we are in the business of identifying the worm-like offspring of insects, we are not the best people to ask about adult insects, so we will have to warn our reader that the information and advice we provide may not be the most credible she could find. With that said, we will do our best to identify this organism and help her. With that said, our opinion is that she has already done the bulk of the work for us, because this does indeed look like a case-bearing clothes moth. Continue reading [...]…

"Can you please identify this moth type?" asks Shanan in her submission regarding the white moth with delicate, feathery wings pictured below. "I'm in South Georgia. I found this moth in my bedroom dresser. Thank you for your time." Typically, we do not identify full-grown insects, but rather their offspring: larvae. That is simply because the nature of our website is to identify worms and worm-like organisms, which larvae are included in. With that said, we will still give this a crack, though Shanan should keep in mind that this identification may not be 100% accurate given that this is not our area of expertise. Continue reading [...]…

"What is this?" is all Kelly Jo writes about the segmented, white worm-like critters pictured below. It looks to us like the creatures are on a bed post, but that is mere speculation based on the little we can make out from the photo. Without more context, it will not be possible for us to give an exact identification, because the physical characteristics of this creature are so commonplace among worm-like creatures that it could be any number of things. With that said, we do think it is some type of insect larva (given the brown head and segmented body), and we will list some of the most likely creatures it could be, provided Kelly Jo found the creature in her home. Continue reading [...]…

"Can you help me identify what type of caterpillar this is?" asks Suzanne in her submission regarding the caterpillar pictured below. "I live in Fredericksburg, Virginia. And it was resting in a cottonwood tree. It measured about five inches long. Thank you!" Firstly, we have to compliment Suzanne on the gorgeous photo. The lighting, colors and detail are just incredible, and are very helpful to us in identifying this creature. Suzanne is absolutely right in identifying this as a caterpillar. Specifically, it is an ilia underwing moth caterpillar. Underwing moths are a genus of moth that is characterized by their colorful under wings which contrast the otherwise neutral or bland colors on their top wings. Continue reading [...]…

"PLEASE HELP!" exclaims Lisa in her submission regarding the grayish brown worm-like critter crawling out of the doughnut pictured below. "I got doughnuts yesterday morning and we ate a lot yesterday. And since we got a dozen I had some left over this morning. The doughnut was tightly sealed in wrap and this morning we saw the attached. You can see it’s coming out of the doughnut and I’m worried me and my kids ate the eggs (or something) from this huge worm. It doesn’t look like a maggot. Please help us. Is this a parasite? I already reported this to the health department but I really am concerned. Thank you so much. There is also an attachment video." Continue reading [...]…

"Any idea what this worm is?" asks Luke in his submission regarding the tiny, yellow, worm-like creature pictured below. "It looks very similar to a meal moth larva but more yellow, with a larger spot on its back, and a light colored head. I found it dangling from a really thin silk line off a tree." Now, if it were not for that last piece of context, we would have identified this as a mealworm (which is not to be confused with the Indianmeal moth larva that Luke mentions). Mealworms are larvae of darkling beetles, but as such, they cannot produce silk/web like many species of caterpillars can. This is why context is so important. Without that piece of information, we would have provided a false identification (which is not to say that we have not provided incorrect identifications in the past, even with ample context: we're only human after all!). Continue reading [...]…

"I had been outside under a tree and came inside to use the bathroom", writes Judy in her submission regarding the white, worm-like creature pictured below. "I found this in my underwear. I have never seen one again, inside or outside. I have found some pictures that look like it, but I'm not sure which one is which. The picture of the worm is on a washcloth and is small. Do I need to be concerned?" To begin with, we want to thank Judy for the photo and context, both of which have made it far easier for us to identify the worm-like critter she is asking about. We believe she has found a clothes moth caterpillar. Continue reading [...]…

"Is this a parasite?" asks this reader in her submission. "It came out when my boyfriend's aunt cleaned her coffee pot! It swam around the carafe for hours until the bleach water finally won the battle. YUCK!" Well, unfortunately we can't tell what organism our reader is referring to in the photo. We assume it could be the translucent, ovate objects on the clear dish, but we cannot be certain. And the photo is quite blurry, so we nonetheless would not be able to provide an identification that is certain or accurate. On top of that, we cannot confirm or deny if any organism is a parasite, because parasites always pose a medical threat. Since we are not medical professionals, we are not qualified nor legally able to identify organisms of this nature. Continue reading [...]…

"Do I need to kill them or let them do their thing?" asks this reader in her submission regarding the colorful and bushy worm-like creatures pictured below. "I am tolerant until it gets to the point where they’re eating plants down to the dirt. If you can identify them and advise me on treatment, I would greatly appreciate it. I live in rural south Texas, Victoria County, zone 9b. The photo on the leaf is about 1”, while the one on the concrete is almost 3”." Firstly, we just want to point out that the second, three-inch caterpillar looks much different to the first one, so we will treat them as different species. That said, we do think they are both caterpillars. Continue reading [...]…

"Can anyone identify these things?" asks this reader in her submission regarding the strange-looking organisms pictured below. "I have alot of pics but for now I'll send a few. Please help, I desperately need to know what these are." Now, our reader does not give any more context, which makes identifying these creatures pretty hard, especially considering that they are not easily-recognizable organisms, and they all look completely different. When it comes to the first image, we think this looks like a moth - almost like a common clothes moth. Continue reading [...]…

A woman in Texas has been finding all sorts of critters across her home, including the white, worm-like creature pictured below. Her story is as follows: "Since mid-July, I have dealt with the repercussions of forgetting to leave my A/C on during the day time, and coming home two or three times to see that my thermostat read 90°F or higher. Here is one of the many bugs I've come across after. I'm assuming some eggs hatched in the midst of the extreme heat. This particular one I found in my carpet, burrowed upside-down where I can see the butt sticking out from the carpet. Along with others that are along my baseboards, and black, cocoon-type things the size of rice. There have been moths and flies, as well as carpet beetles that are tiny. And long, oval-shaped, brown-with-light-brown patches all around my house (we live outside of town in west Texas, where the dirt blows and the heat/rain brings all the bugs inside). Can you tell me what kind of larvae these…