One of our readers has asked about "hard shelled worms about 1/2 to 1 inches long that curl into a tight circle when touched. What are these?" Without a photograph, description of where in the house (or the world!) he found it and any additional physical description, we think he's writing to us about millipedes. Read more about brown and black worms that curl up tight here Millipedes are arthropods, not insects, of the type Myriapoda (meaning "myriad" or 'uncountably numerous' feet --"pods.") As you can easily imagine, the name comes from the up-to-four feet per segment that can be found on their bodies. They all have a single pair of antennae, simple eyes and a mouth on the underside of the head and are known for their shiny hard bodies. All prefer to live in moist areas and feed on Continue reading [...]…

A while ago a reader wrote to us about some brown and black worms she is finding all over her apartment, including on her tile floor and the rug in her bedroom, as well as on the walls of her house. When they die, the worms "curl into a circle." The reader refers to the worms in quotes, indicating that she is using the term loosely, and we think she is right in doing this, as it seems she is finding millipedes. However, the reader anticipated this suggestion, and said that she thinks the creatures she is finding are too skinny to be millipedes. So, below we explore our reader's situation in more depth, trying to decipher if she found millipedes or something else. Continue reading [...]…