“What is a small brown worm with antennae and definitely no legs?” asks this reader in his query to us. Although he sends no photographs with his submission, he describes the worm as being approximately one-and-a-half inches long and “very skinny.”

The wooly bear worm is most famous for its legendary ability to predict winter weather. Also known as wooly worm, woolly worm, black-ended bear, fuzzy bear, or banded wooly bear, the wooly bear worm is actually the caterpillar (larval stage) of the Isabella Tiger Moth.

Worm tea sounds like a disgusting beverage, not exactly the sort of drink you want to curl up with on a cold night (or any night for that matter.) Fortunately, it’s not a drink that people enjoy…it’s used primarily as a fertilizer!

Grub worms feed on plants and the roots of turf grasses and the adult beetles feed on trees, shrubs, and other foliage. While grub worms are harmless to humans, they can be devastating to crops mainly because they feed on crop roots.

Worms prefer complete darkness because the light affects them in the worst way. Light does not kill worms, but if worms spend too much time in the light (typically one hour), they become paralyzed.

A reader wrote to us a while back about an interesting red worm that he found. He took a picture of the creature (see below), which shows a relatively small red worm in what appears to be an arid environment. The picture captures the red worm mid-movement, showing the middle of the worm’s body raised in an arc, which led the reader to suspect that he found an inchworm (commonly spelled as two separate words – “inch worm” – and also called a “measuring worm”). We have no reason to doubt this hypothesis, so below we provide some basic information about inch worms, although for reasons that we explain we aren’t sure exactly what the red inchworm our reader found is.

A concerned son recently wrote to us about some worms his mother found on her kitchen ceiling. His mother vacuumed them off, but they reappeared. He said that when he tried to knock them off, the worms appeared to be hanging by a piece of web. He described the worms as being light colored and less than half an inch in length. He is hopeful that we can identify these pests and advise him on how to get rid of them in order to give his mother peace of mind.

One of our readers sent us a picture of a worm-like creature that she found in her kitchen. She said that she found it on the lid of the trash can. She said the trash can was closed, so she assumed that it came from the kitchen counter or sink which are located relatively close to the trash can. She did mention that she has pets, so she wanted to make sure that they were safe from it. She first thought it to be a waxworm, but she said it was much longer, had stripes, and a red head. After looking at the picture, there is a possibility that it could be a couple of things.It could be a caterpillar and it could be a type of inchworm.

“Small, thin, black worms” of approximately 1-2-inches have been showing up in our reader’s backyard. This is a new occurrence for our reader, as it has only been happening for the past “couple of months”, and our reader wonders if they are “good worms or bad worms.”

“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.

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

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.

One of our readers has asked about “hard shelled worms about 1/2 to 1 inches long that curl into a…

The Woolly Worm Festival takes place in small towns across the U.S. each year. Locals and visitors alike gather in…

A reader found some critters hanging from a towel that was out by the pool. We believe these worm-like organisms are inchworms.

Wax worms look like dull white caterpillars. They have thick bodies and a dark head. After mating, the female wax worm will lays her eggs and the cycle will begin again.

A reader from Australia requested assistance in identifying some worms he’s found in his bathroom. He says that they are 3 mm – 4 mm (0.11” – 0.15”) long, black, and drop from the bathroom ceiling on threads. Once they land, they walk end over end. It is summer in Australia and he says that the temperature is around 40 ? (~104?). He would like to know what they are because they are freaking him out.

A reader recently reached out to us and wrote, “I got an inchworm. Can it bite?”

The earthworm’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. If the conditions are not suitable for reproduction, the worms won’t reproduce.

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!