“My cat dropped this on my chest”, writes Taylor in his submission regarding the pink, worm-like creature with a white head and pronged rear. “What is it? A worm? A centipede? I included a picture of how it looks and a video to show how it moves. I appreciate your help!” Now, while being shaped like a worm and having clear-cut segmentation like a centipede, we do not believe this creature is either a worm or a centipede. We actually think it is a larva, specifically a beetle larva. We are not certain exactly which species of beetle this belongs to. The pink coloration reminds us of the scarlet malachite beetle, but the white head throws us off that course. In fact, the inchworm-like movements of the creature (as seen in the video linked below) has us doubting if it is a beetle larva at all.

“I saw something tiny moving on a stuffed animal, and upon taking a closer look, it was a tiny brownish worm, with a pointy ‘tail’, that hastily started hiding when I tried to pick it up”, writes this reader in her submission regarding the creature pictured below. “I shook the stuffed animal out over the bathtub – and here is what I saw (luckily only this one ‘worm’). What is it? Thank you.” Unfortunately, the photo and video our reader sent us were taken in quite poor lighting, which makes it harder to see the finer details of the critter’s physical characteristics.

“I found this grub/worm on a packaged stuffed dog toy I ordered online”, writes Sarah in her submission regarding the segmented, brown, worm-like creature pictured below. “It was stuck to the fabric on a white patch that looked a bit like egg sac remnants? There was only one that I could find. What is it?” Now, what caught us off guard about this creature at first were the six appendages sticking out from one end of the creature’s body. It took us a moment to realize that the critter was upside down, and that these were its prolegs! Once we gathered that, we figured it must be some type of beetle larva, as the body shape, segmentation, and presence of prolegs point to this conclusion.

“I live in Brooklyn, NY and I just finished renovating my basement”, starts Yitzchok in his submission regarding the pink, worm-like creature with legs pictured below. “I put in new ceramic flooring and freshly painted, etc. But now, only a week after post construction, I keep on finding these small yellowish worms crawling on my new floors. There is no food being stored in my basement. The only thing I have other than the toilet and bedrooms is a boiler room with some extra paint stored in it. Please if you can help me find out where it’s coming from and how to get rid of it. Thanks.”

“I found this worm, see attached image, when cleaning up a mess my dog made, poop,” writes Brandon in his submission regarding the teeny tiny worm-like critter pictured below. “It was mostly liquid and I’m not sure if it was in my dog’s faeces or if it was just nearby. I do not know what kind of worm or larva this is. Description: translucent, dark spots on both ends. About three sets of legs located near its head.” Based on Brandon’s description of the creature, as well as what we saw when we zoomed in on it, we think he has found himself a beetle larva.

“I found this in my backyard the other night while digging up roots”, writes Marlene about the milky-white, worm-like creature pictured below. “I have never seen anything like this before, and it is quite ugly. It was about three inches long, rather chubby, and black on one end, with what looked like purple veins going through it. I live in southern New Jersey (Gloucester County). There are no lakes or ponds close to my yard. Just curious about what is living in my yard and possibly creating a family. Thank you.” Well, based on the excellent photo that Marlene sent in, we think that the “ugly” worm-like critter she found is a wood-boring beetle larva.

“What kind of worm is this, and how do I prevent another one in my home?” asks this reader in her submission about the greenish worm pictured below. “I awoke to a bite or sting from this fellow on my back shoulder. We are in North Florida, 6/25/22. I felt it crawling on my arm, knocked it off, went back to sleep to awake to a burning feeling on my back. Do you know what it is?” Based on the creature’s possession of six legs and its antennae, we are inclined to identify this as a beetle larva of some kind, though we do not know exactly what species it belongs to.

A reader sent in this image of a creature on her bed, asking us if it was either a carpet beetle larva or a maggot. The image displays a ovate creature with bristles around its body. One half of this critter’s back is striped brown and beige, and the other is a solid brown.