Category: Bristle Worms
“Jellylike” Organism Clinging to Toilet Bowl is Possibly a Bristle Worm
“We found this clung to the toilet bowl,” writes this reader in his submission regarding the strange-looking organism pictured below. “Not sure what it is, it’s clear and jellylike. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.” We have to say that we have actually seen something like this submitted before by another reader, and it stumped just as much then as it does now. The center of the creature’s body seems to be transparent, while its bristles or segmentation (we are not sure what those appendages are) are visible, but only just. On top of that, at one end of its body, the appendages seem to break apart. We are curious to know how much our reader had to zoom in on the worm to get this picture.
See-through Worm with Long Appendages in Toilet is a Bristle Worm
“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”.
Is Worm Used as Fishing Bait a Bloodworm?
One of our readers asked us to identify a bloodworm she used for fishing in Maine. Sadly, we don’t know the species of this marine bloodworm.
Red Creature Staining Carpet is a Bloody Mystery
A woman in the United Kingdom has written to us with a rather odd query. She has found something that…
Woolly Worms and Winter: Foreteller or Folklore?
Summary: Do the stripes of woolly worms stripes predict the length or severity of winter? It’s a long standing folk…
Worm Found in Sink is a Bristle Worm
We attempted to identify the specimen in a photo a reader sent us. At first we thought it could be a centipede, but then we settled on the belief that it is a bristle worm!
Segmented Worm with Bristles and Antennae
We just received a message via our Facebook page from a reader who has been finding some curious creatures in her living room. She also included a photo that shows a segmented, light brown critter with plenty of bristly legs and antenna. Our initial assumption is that this is either a centipede or millipede, due to the segments, legs, and antennae. However, the specimen doesn’t really look like either of these, so we want to explore some other options.
Bristle Worms Dying in Aquarium
We received a question via the All About Worms Facebook page from a reader whose bristle worms have died in his aquarium. Actually, the worms didn’t just die, but “simultaneously combusted,” although presumably this can’t be taken too literally, as we don’t see how worms in a fish tank could be consumed by fire. The reader isn’t worried about the worms themselves, but he is concerned if the death of the bristle worms is a bad portent, spelling trouble for the rest of the tank. So, essentially, the reader wants to know what it means when the bristle worms in your aquarium die.
Where Can I Find Poisonous Worms?
It is rare to come across a worm that stings outside of tropical regions, but if you do, chances are it is a bristle worm. Bristle worms may release “poison” when it stings, but the poison is not harmful to humans, only other very small animals.
Poisonous Worms
Bristle worms can be found in other parts of the world as well. Some are errant, meaning, they move along the shoreline and shallow water, while others are tube-binding which means they build a permanent tube or home along the shoreline flats.
Marine Worms
Marine worms come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They may be long and thin, plumb and short, flattened and floppy, bright and colorful or dull and dark.
Limb Boring Worm
The limb boring worm tunnels into hard materials such as rocks and shells. While you may never witness a boring worm in action, you may notice their bodies sticking out of mollusk shells and rock cracks after they have tunneled through.
Bristle Worm
Large bristle worms are usually gray or brownish in color. Some are also salmon pink with white setae around the body. Like most worms, bristle worms are nocturnal, so they are not usually around during the day.
When Bristle Worms Attack
Bristle worms belong to the family Polychaete. The common name is Acropora Crab. Bristle worms are usually found under rocks and corals in a number of different tropical areas throughout the world.
Anatomy of a Worm
While a lizard will lose its tail as a means of protection, if a worm loses either end (the anterior…
Worms and “Coiling”
There are literally hundreds of thousands of worm species in the world today and roughly 2,700 are earthworms. Although there…
Worms
There are more than 2,700 species of earthworms in existence today and they can be found in just about every…
Woolly Worm Folklore
The woolly worm is actually a caterpillar or the larvae of the Isabella tiger moth. The tiger moth belongs to…
Banded Woolly Bear
While the banded woolly bear does not use its bristles for protection, it has another defense mechanism. If handled or threatened in any way, the banded woolly bear will simply play dead.
Are Bristleworm Stings Dangerous?
The bristles or “setae” of the bristleworm are so tough that they can penetrate skin, causing a painful “sting.” Depending on the type of bristleworm, the sting can cause burning, inflammation, numbness, pain, redness, and swelling at the bite or sting site.
