One of our dedicated readers just wrote to us about some larvae he discovered while redoing his roof. He was replacing the old thatch with new thatch, and in doing so discovered some creatures in the old thatch. He described them as having a 25 mm light brown body with dark brown head and tail segments.

For those who are unfamiliar with thatching, it involves constructing a roof out of layers of vegetation such as straw and water reed. It was once quite popular but is now used mostly in tropical and temperate climates.  The material causes these roofs to be an attractive home for some critters.

We can’t make a definite identification on these critters without a photo, but based on the description we believe he may have found white grubs.

Despite their name including the word “white” these larvae can appear in colors other than white, including brown. Grubs are the larval form of different kinds of scarab beetles. These beetles live under the soil as adults, but as larvae they are known to feed on thatch and other grasses.

To sum up, a reader found some larvae in his old roof thatching. Without a picture to examine we cannot be certain, but we think he has found white grubs.