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Posted in Caterpillars Inch Worms Worms Generally

Black Worm with Curved Back is an Inchworm

“What is this guy?” is all Brooke asks in her submission regarding the black, worm-like creature pictured below. It has an arched back and bulbous head, which tells us that this is an inchworm. Usually it is much harder to identify organisms without more context, or without a clearer photo, but the shape of this creature is so specific to inchworms that we knew it had to be one. Inchworms have legs at the front and back of their body, which forces them to curve their back in this way as they ‘inch’ their way forward.

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Posted in Caterpillars Inch Worms Worms Generally

Small Black Worms Swarming Home Office are Inchworms

“Found these little guys on the floor of my home office”, writes Elle in her submission regarding the minuscule, black, worm-like organisms pictured below. “Seemed to be all clustered together in one spot. Not able to find/see any anywhere else within the home. I suspect moth larvae after spending hours on google, but really not sure. Any ideas please? Many thanks.” To start with, we want to commend Elle on the excellent photos she sent in. The first one below captures (in incredible detail) one of the tiny critters. It is hard to photograph creatures this small in this much detail! The second photo shows just how many of the things she found in her office. Elle is completely right in suspecting these as moth larvae, cause that is exactly what they are. To be precise, she found inchworms.

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Posted in Caterpillars Inch Worms Worms Facts

Tiny, Black Worm-like Creatures Roaming Around Apartment are Inchworms

“I live in southern Ontario and I noticed these little guys roaming around my apartment (see picture)”, writes Rachel in her submission regarding the tiny, black, worm-like creature pictured below. “Just wondering if I should be concerned. They seem to just crawl on my floor, the side of my mattress, and on my clothes. I’ve washed everything and swept and mopped the floors, but it’s tough to get them all. I’m just hoping they don’t turn into moths in a couple of weeks if I missed one. I’m pretty clean to begin with (as I live in a small studio) so I’m really puzzled where they came from. Thanks!”

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Inch Worms

Green Worm on Trousers is an Inchworm

“Found this worm on my trouser, where it looked like it matched the grey color and then it took over my pencil”, writes Abhinav in his submission regarding the curved, green, little critter pictured below. “As soon as it sensed danger, it left a green color liquid and died.” Firstly, we want to thank Abhinav for the great photo; he managed to capture an incredibly tiny creature in such great detail. Secondly, we want to point to our previous description of this worm as “curved”, which is actually a very important characteristic. It is because of the arch of this creature’s body that we immediately identified it as an inchworm.

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Posted in Caterpillars Inch Worms Parasite Worms

Small Worm with Needle Tip Could be an Inchworm

“I have looked through your site and can’t find exactly what I’m having a problem with”, writes this reader regarding the tiny critter pictured below. “They look like worm-type things, but they are as small as a needle tip, probably one millimeter long, and they seem to appear out of nowhere. They don’t seem to move while I watch them, and one minute out of nowhere they appear on my body. I’ll include pictures for you below.” Right off the bat, we will have to point out that, because of how tiny the worm is, and how blurry the photo becomes when we try to zoom in on it, we will not be able to provide an identification that is 100% certain or accurate. We understand that, given the minuscule size of the worms, it would have been extremely difficult to photograph these creatures.

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Posted in Caterpillars Inch Worms Worms Generally

Green Worm Dangling From Cap is an Inchworm

“What is this thin, small, brow/tan, almost greenish inch worm?” writes this reader about the worm-like organism pictured below. “Found it dangling off my cap on a some sort of thread I think, it moves pretty fast. From the US.” Thanks to our reader’s excellent photo and video, but mostly the fact that she names the organism herself, we can confirm that this is indeed an inchworm. Inchworms are any caterpillar of a group of moth species found in North America. They are all characterized by their number and placement of appendages: legs at the front and back, but not in the middle. Due to how the legs are positioned on the body, the inchworm moves as it does in the video: by reaching for something to grab onto with its prolegs, then arching its back while the hind legs catch up.

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Posted in Garden Worms Inch Worms Worms Generally

Black Caterpillars Spinning Silk are Inchworms

“I saw you have an article about the little black worms/caterpillars with long thread silk and I have a video of what I think is the same thing”, writes Alicia regarding the minuscule, black organism pictured below. “Could you please tell me how to get rid of them and what they are? I am in Perth.” We are not sure what article Alicia refers to, but regardless, we have identified this as an inchworm. The video gives it away: inchworms have a unique way of moving around which is a product of their anatomy. Inchworms have prolegs and rear legs, but not legs in the middle of their body. For that reason, the middle of their back arches as they ‘inch’ forward. They will also typically lift their entire front body (like in the video) and swivel it around as they try to redirect themselves.

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Posted in Dog Worms Inch Worms Parasite Worms

Worms Found While Dog Sitting Could be Inchworms, but Parasite-related Concerns are Raised

“Could you possibly help identify this worm/larvae?” asks Gabby in her submission regarding the minuscule, darkly-colored creature pictured below. “I read an article which seems like something similar to what I experienced, but you were unable to identify the worm in that article with the information given. I’m dog sitting this weekend and therefore spending a bit more time in the backyard/ back porch which is cement and siding with a wooden table, and the dogs are on the couches and rugs inside. A day after the dogs arrived we started feeling like something was on us. We even thought we felt a bite once or twice (to be fair we have not seen any actual bites, only felt like something was on us and bit us). At first we thought it was fleas but we never saw any fleas on us or the dogs or the furniture. I finally saw this shortly after coming in from taking them on a potty break. I actually found two of them on my arm and one on the end of a strand of hair. I have not found any more of these on myself, blankets, furniture, or the dogs. My original thought was a baby tapeworm? But I haven’t seen any more in the house or on the animals so I started thinking maybe it was something outside that I carried in. Could you please help? I’m worried about my family and my mothers “other children”: her dogs. Thank you. PS: I apologize my camera has lines in it. It’s the best I could do.”

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Posted in Caterpillars Inch Worms Worms Generally

Cankerworm Caterpillar Inch Worms Taking Over Texas

Recent rains in Texas have brought forth one of our many worm-like friends, the cankerworm caterpillar, and they are invading The Lone Star State by the masses. Cankerworm caterpillars are a species of inchworm, and are the larval form of the hackberry leafroller moth. There is a lot to unpack here. First of all, ‘inchworm’ is a name thrown around a lot in reference to worm-like creatures, and the thing is that the term ‘inchworm’ is almost as broad as its application. The term refers to a whole bunch of moth species that are endemic to the North Americas, and it specifically refers to those moth caterpillars that have legs at the front and rear of their bodies, but not in the middle, forcing them to arch their back as they ‘inch’ across a surface. Secondly, a “leafroller caterpillar” is also an umbrella term, and refers to multiple species of caterpillars which roll the leaves they munch on and hide in them when they need shelter. Lastly, and most importantly, is this newsworthy invasion of caterpillars.

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Inch Worms

Black-headed Worm-like Critters Swarming Fireplace are Inchworms

“What worm is this?”, asks this reader about the small, black-headed organism pictured below. “I live in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and I just found these little worms all over my fireplace. I’ve never seen them before. Some were inching along but there were also a number of them hanging from the fireplace from very thin threads (so thin I couldn’t see them).” Now, the key phrase here is “inching”, as that describes pretty well the creature we believe our reader is dealing with: an inchworm. Why they are called inchworms is because of the exact motion that our reader describes; they pull their bodies across a surface using legs located at the front and back of their bodies, thus forcing them to arch the middle of their bodies (which does not have any legs) and ‘inch’ forward. Likewise, they are able to generate a silk-like string from which they can quickly eject and hang on to as they jump off a surface, which is a defense mechanism they use to get away from predators.

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Inch Worms

Tiny Black Worm-like Creatures with Bulbous Heads are Inchworms

“What are these?” is all this reader asks about the small, black worm-like organisms pictured below. They appear to have bulbous black heads and prolegs, and are very minuscule in size.

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Inch Worms

Tiny Larva with Bulbous Black Head is Likely an Inchworm

“What is this?” is all this reader asks in her submission. The creature she is referring to appears to be black and gray in color, with a bulbous black head that sits atop a skinny body with two-to-three sets of prolegs.

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Posted in Caterpillars Inch Worms Worms Found in the House

Shell-like Critters Hanging From the Ceiling by Threads of Web May be Inchworms or Something Else

After finding several organisms that resemble “white shell[s]” hanging over her bed, this reader contacts us in the hope that we can help with this recurring issue. “Sadly”, our reader did not send any pictures, but she hopes nonetheless that we can identify the creatures and give some advice as to how she can ensure they do not reappear.

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Inch Worms

Gray and Yellow Worms Forming Webs in Grandmother’s Plum Tree are Tent Caterpillars

“What kind of worms are these and how do you get rid of them?” asks this reader about the gray and yellow-patterned creatures in the photographs below. “They are ruining my grandmother’s plum tree,” our reader states.

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Inch Worms

Worm that Reminds Woman of “Alien vs Predator” is Just an Inchworm

“You are my last hope or I’m about to call it an alien invasion” says this reader, starting her query off with a bang. This beige, wood-colored worm-like creature “has no legs on the middle part of his body” and as a result “walks quite strange.”

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Inch Worms

Tiny, Skinny Little Thing On Shorts is Likely an Inchworm

“I found this tiny, skinny little thing on my shorts after coming home from a run,” says this reader, who asks if we can identify the worm-like creature. Although it is difficult to tell from the photograph, which was taken at a distance from the worm, the creature appears to be a dark color (perhaps a black or dark brown), with a thin, elongated body.

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Inch Worms

Maroon Worm Found On Bed Comforter is an Inchworm

“The tiny thread-thin worm taped to the card […] was crawling, inch-worm-like on my bed comforter one night” says this reader, perfectly encapsulating her experience with the worm in the photo below. The “inch-worm-like” creature in the photo is a brownish-red color, is lying on its side in a shape that inchworms do make when they make their way across a surface, and is, from what we can tell, quite small in size.

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Posted in Garden Worms Inch Worms Worms Generally

A Brief Guide to Inchworms

Inchworms are arguably the first thing that come to mind when we think of caterpillars; that curving arch that these critters make as they ‘inch’ their way across a surface is, dare we say, iconic. This article will take a brief look at inchworms: their characteristics, behaviors and place in the natural world.

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Posted in Caterpillars Inch Worms

Cluster of Larvae Discovered on Limestone

Our reader discovered a cluster of moth larvae on the limestone wall of her house. She can wash her walls to get rid of these creatures, but they are nothing to be worried about!

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Posted in Inch Worms Worms Found in the House

Worms Hanging From Ceiling Are Moth Larvae

We believe the small black worms our reader noticed hanging from her ceiling are inchworms! These larvae are harmless and can be eliminated by cleaning…there is no need for her to call an exterminator!