“These worm-like larvae are on the bottom of my koi pond”, writes Steve about the slimy-looking, dark green-gray creatures pictured below. “I live in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Trying to ID and control as necessary. Thank you.” This photo has us puzzled. Not only do the reflections in the water make it hard to see the worms’ physical characteristics, but they all share this gray-green color which they seem to be bathing in. We can’t tell if this really is the color of the worms, and they match the background, or if they are covered in some kind of slime or sludge.

“These tiny worms have been found in the bathtub of our new house after showering”, writes Lucy about the worm-like critter pictured below. “A few at a time, we picked it up with a tissue and put it in the toilet so you could see it move. Please help!” Based on the photo alone, which actually captures the worm in good detail, we would say this looks like a hammerhead worm. However, when we take Lucy’s context into account, we begin to wonder what it could actually be. It is odd (but not impossible) that these hammerhead worms were found in a bathtub; hammerhead worms are terrestrial worms, meaning they live on land, and would not survive underwater like other species of flatworms.

“My mom found this worm in her cat’s water dish”, writes Jade in Atlanta, Georgia about the red, clear worm pictured below. “My mom said that it was not happy to be removed from the water/seemed like it belonged in water. We sent a photo to her vet and are waiting to hear back, but I am very curious what it is, even if it’s not a kitty parasite. Thanks so much! Attaching two photos and a video showing how it moves.” Firstly, we just want to thank Jade for the ample context and the excellent photo and video: they really help us narrow down the possible identifications for a given organism. Secondly, we have to say that, given that this was found in her cat’s water dish, we will not be able to give an identification that is 100% certain, given the possibility that it is related to the cat’s health – which Jade makes clear by affirming that she has consulted her vet. Since we are not medical professionals, we are neither qualified nor legally able to provide advice in these types of instances. Such advice includes making identifications. So, in the case that her vet decides that this worm is tied to her cat’s health, then Jade should disregard any of the information we give in this article.

“I have rediscovered this worm-like mystery from a few years ago and thought maybe you could help!” states this reader in her submission regarding the long, brownish worm-like organism pictured below. “We live in Germany and we’re walking by a lake on a cold day in February when we spotted this creature under the ice; it was wriggling and moving and most definitely alive. Any ideas? Thank you!” Firstly, we must say that this worm is very odd-looking: we have never seen a worm with these markings, not to mention the bursting, bush-like thing at one end of its body. Secondly, we also have to point out the mysterious circumstances under which our reader discovered the worm; it is not every day you find a worm in a frozen lake.

“What is this?” asks this reader about the long, thin, white worm pictured below slithering over some big rocks. “It is a live worm as thick as a thread of cotton. Many thanks.” She does not provide more context than this, though based on the photo alone, we would say this most resembles a horsehair worm. Unfortunately, the horsehair worm has garnered an unsavory reputation that is founded in a lot of misinformation. Also referred to as a Gordian worm, because of its tendency to tangle in on itself like the mythical Gordian knot, the horsehair worm is a parasitic worm that only takes insects and other smaller invertebrates as hosts.

“I recently saw a program on Discovery Plus entitled ‘MYSTERY AT BLIND FROG RANCH’, states this reader in his submission. He does not attach any photos, but he does provide ample context: “A variety of apparently a marine “worm” was found that I cannot find any information on. The worm is around 3 1/2 to 4 inches long, appears to be segmented, is basically white with black banding which appears to be approximately 1/4 inch in size with 3/8 to 1/2 inches between bands. I would appreciate any assistance you could provide in naming these worms.”

“When I came out of our northern Minnesota lake in early October (cooling off on a warm fall day), my legs and swim trunks were covered in over 100 small dark brown to black larvae/worms”, writes this reader to us in his submission. “My guess is that they detached from the weeds that I had walked through and floated onto my legs. It is a deep (50 ft) soft bottom lake. Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera to take any photos. I saw an article on midge fly larvae but none of these were lighter-colored (all very dark) and they were all about 3 mm (0.1-inches) in length and 1mm (0.04-inches) in diameter? I would not call them slender. They didn’t fall off easily but I was able to brush them off. My neighbors say they have never seen this before and we had multiple new (to our lake) watercraft put in at our shore this summer so my main interest/concern would be whether this might be some sort of invasive species.”

“Found this on my bathroom floor next to the toilet”, states this reader in her submission regarding the purplish-gray worm-like organism pictured below. “I don’t have a clue what it is but it’s creepy!”

“Is this a worm?” asks this reader in her submission regarding the orangish-brown, tangled organism pictured below. “And if so, what type is it?”

“Not sure what these worms are that I found in my pool after heavy rain,” states this reader in Florence, South Carolina. The worms in question appear to be a pinkish-red color, and are 1-2-inches in length and very thin, according to our reader.

“Is this a bloodworm or a parasite?” asks this reader in his submission regarding the creature photographed below. The critter in question appears to be a bright red color, with a thin, segmented body that is seemingly quite bendy.

“We found this clinging to the toilet bowl” begins this reader in his query about the “clear and jellylike” worm he discovered. According to our reader, this alien creature is approximately 1/2-inches long and is “almost completely clear”.

“What is this worm?” asks our reader about this cream-colored creature she put in a glass jar. The creature looks to be an ovate shape, with a thin tail emerging from one end of its body.

“I just found these after vacuuming my pool” says this reader about a tangle of gray worms pictured below in the photograph our reader sent us. “They are quite long and active” and are “at least two inches” in length. “What are they?” our reader asks.

“What on Earth are these worms?” asks this reader, who found a batch of pinkish, dead worm-like creatures beside her kitchen sink. She has since cleaned the worms up and bleached her entire counter and sink.

Red worms were found in the sandbox of this reader’s daughter in the south of Florida; our reader wonders if he needs to be concerned about the worms, or if they are harmless. The worms in question are a bright red color, skinny, and vary in length from below an inch to “3 inches long”.

It is no secret that across the multitude of species of worms in the world, there are some that possess incredible abilities. These abilities have always been thought to be exclusive to these invertebrates and beyond the capabilities of a human being, until now.

In the human world, matters of gender and sex are topical and have been debated for many years, but it seems in the world of worms, they simply do not care. One such mascot of this is a new species of worm discovered in California which has three sexes.

Recently have scientists discovered a deep-sea worm that, together with a bacteria, feeds on methane gas on the ocean floor. This article look at these findings and explore what we know so far about these worms.

Although worms make up the cuisine of several cultures across the globe, we Westerners typically do not regard worms as a tasty source of sustenance, especially if they were not supposed to be a part of our meal in the first place. Being surprised by a worm in your food can be an extremely unpleasant experience, and this article is going to provide some examples of the types of worms one can potentially find in their food.