A reader wrote to us a while ago to ask about worm she found on the beach. Actually, she didn’t really ask about a worm on the beach – she wasn’t particularly interested in the beach worm itself – but she did mention it bit her son. Presumably, this is what concerned her about the worm. Peculiarly, though, she didn’t ask us anything. She merely said she found a white worm on the beach (it might have been more of a tan color, adds the reader) and that it bit her son, which created a mark on his skin that is red and itchy. Nothing else is added to the email – not even a period. We are of course in the business of answering questions, and the reader submitted her question through our eternally popular “Submit a Question” feature, so we are compelled to supply some information about her situation. What is this worm on the beach? Is this beach worm even a beach worm at all? Are worms on the beach generally dangerous?

Today, we’re addressing a question from a reader in Dubai. She writes because she has found some creatures on the beach, and she’s wondering if they are worms. She adds that it is the first time she has seem such critters there, and she has included a picture.

A reader sent an excellent picture of a transparent worm on a beach in Thailand. Technically, the worm isn’t really transparent because you can’t simply see directly through it to the objects behind it, perhaps in part because it is faintly red, so we suppose it is more like a translucent worm, one whose skin is not a solid color, but definitely isn’t entirely see-through either. The reader was first of all wondering if she had found a worm at all, and if so, she asked us to identify exactly what kind it is. What type of translucent red worm might be found on a beach in Thailand?

A reader wrote to us the other day about a unique worm that she found on the beach in Port Aransas, Texas. The worm (or rather, worms – she found several) are covered in what appear to be dozens of small shells. The reader attributed agency to the worm, suggesting that the worm had perhaps “decorated” itself with the shells, much like a decorator crab wraps itself in seaweed to blend in with its surroundings. Many of these strange worms, which were a few inches long on average, were found on the beach, although a few others were found in the water, where they were partially buried in sand. (Presumably, these worms were right by the shore, or else our reader must have been diving to the explore the ocean’s floor.) What are these worms?