“What is this?” is all Rocky asks about the brown worm-shaped creature pictured below. It is unfortunate that Rocky does not provide any context, as that always helps us narrow down the possibilities for what the given organism might be, especially when the photo does not already tell us what it is. And in this case, we cannot tell what this critter is based on the photo: it kind of looks like a cigarette or a dried up worm. Our best guess is that this is a mealworm, and we base this solely on its coloration. Mealworms also possess clear segmentation that we cannot see from the photo, but we suppose that, given the low resolution of the photo, the segmentation could just not be visible on the photo.

First off, mealworms are not actually worms, they’re darkling beetle larvae. Secondly, despite their wormy appearance, they actually possess three sets of prolegs, meaning they have six legs in total, and they use these to drag themselves across surfaces and get to a source of food. Which brings us to our next point: mealworms are some of the most non-picky eaters out there, and that has earned them the infamous status of pest.

Originally from Africa, mealworms have spread across the world and infested all kinds of places, though they are worst in homes, farms and grocery stores, where there are plenty of delicious human foods for them to choose from. In nature, they live under rocks and on trees, where they eat decomposing organic matter. In an urban setting, such as a home or store, they will be munching on grains, vegetables, flour, fruit, seeds, and even styrofoam. This makes them really hard to contain, since they can eat through so many materials, and yet, people do try to farm mealworms, either as food for their fish or reptile pets, or for a compost bin. If only humans were not such picky eaters, we might actually be able to curb mealworm populations by eating them ourselves, as they are not only edible, but rich in fiber.

In conclusion, it is possible that Rocky found a mealworm, though this is an educated guess based merely on the photo. There is just as high a chance that this is not a mealworm. We would either need better photos or more context, or preferably both, to give a solid identification. We hope nonetheless that Rocky found something useful or interesting here, and we wish him the very best!

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