Recently we received yet another question about tiny white worms with black heads. This time, the small worms (or more likely larvae) were in a swarm on the ceiling. There are probably at least a hundred worms or larvae in the picture we were sent, and they are all in a small area of the ceiling, tightly packed together. The reader indicated that we had tentatively identified similar creatures in the past as moth fly larvae, and was wondering if the small white worms (or larvae) with black heads that he found are moth fly larvae.

A reader wrote to us recently about some extremely small larvae that appear to have white bodies and black heads. She found a “few dozen” white-bodied, black-headed larvae in her bathroom; they were in a damp towel that was on the edge of the bathtub, and larvae fell on the floor when the towel was unfolded. The reader speculated that she might have found moth fly larvae, but she wanted to check her tentative identification with us because the larvae she found seem even smaller than moth fly larvae. Given where the larvae were found, we think it is possible she found moth fly larvae, but because of their appearance, she also might have found Indian Mealmoth (pantry moth) larvae. Below we discuss both possibilities.

A reader wrote to us earlier today about some small larvae with black heads that she has found on three occasions in her home. The reader referred to the creatures she found as “worms,” but they are definitely larvae, so we will proceed with our identification efforts accordingly. The reader describes the larvae as entirely black, and while this is definitely true of the heads of the larvae, the rest of their bodies appear to be more of a grayish color. (That’s why we simply called them “small dark larvae” in the title.) What are these small dark larvae with black heads?