Today we will respond to one of our readers in Hyderabad, India. She sent us a bunch of photographs of a mysterious specimen she noticed in her home. She explained that she is dealing with over 50 of these creatures a day and can’t figure out what they are. Her two questions are: What kind of worms are these? How can I get rid of them?
The first photograph gives us a pretty good idea of what this specimen looks like. The color of its body is a shade of brown, pink, or red (similar to the color of an earthworm.) This worm-like organism has a smooth anterior half of its body with a distinct, round head. The posterior half of its body is segmented. We believe it has 3 sets of small legs. The organism might also have additional appendages like antennae, mandibles, or cercus, but we can’t make them out in the photograph.
We don’t think “worm” is an appropriate word to describe this creature. The word “worm” is a blanket term that can be used to describe any number of invertebrate animals (organisms without a backbone) that have soft bodies with no limbs. So, if this creature isn’t a worm, what is it?
In this photograph we can see the outline of the body of the specimen more clearly. We can confirm that it has at least 2 set of legs. It might have a third set that isn’t visible in the picture. After looking at this photo, we also believe that we can confirm that it has cercus, which are two small appendages at the end of some insects that occur in pairs.
Unfortunately, we don’t recognize this specimen. We aren’t even sure if it is an immature larva or mature adult. Since we don’t know what this creature is, we can’t advise our reader on how to get rid of it. If any of our other readers know what this organism is, we invite them to comment on this article!
All About Worms is always free, always reader-supported. Your tips via CashApp, Venmo, or Paypal are appreciated! Receipts will come from ISIPP Publishing.