Tag: BSFL
Black Maggot-looking Creatures Living in Creeks Could be Black Fly Larvae or BSFL
“What are the little black maggot-looking larvae that are in creeks?” asks Crystal in her submission. “They live under leaves and they are only in creeks once a year. I used to fish with them but I don’t know what they are.” Crystal does not attach any photos to her submission, which makes it much harder to narrow down the list of suspects for this creature that Crystal is searching for. Unfortunately, there are a lot of worm-like creatures that fit Crystal’s description. They could be anything from millipedes to rosemary beetle larvae to leeches. With that said, we have tried to narrow down our educated guesses to two species that are more “maggot-looking” than the others, and which tend to live near creeks and streams.
Segmented Worms in Sink are Black Soldier Fly Larvae
“I have found several of these worms in the last few days”, writes this reader in her submission regarding the segmented, black, worm-like creature pictured below. “Usually in my bathroom sink. I am in Angleton, Tx. What are they?” Based on the photo alone, we have concluded that this is a black soldier fly larva (BSFL): the shape and clear-cut segmentation of this creature’s body is characteristic of a black soldier fly larva. Not to worry, black soldier fly larvae are not harmful to humans at all. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Black soldier fly larvae are somewhat of a phenomenon.
Segmented Bug on Bed Sheets Could be Black Soldier Fly Larva or Fiery Searcher Larva
“Found this on a bed sheet”, writes this reader in his submission regarding the segmented, black, bug-like critter pictured below. “Pic is of back and front. At first I thought it was a leaf. Do you know what it is? Thank you!” Well, we can say that this is definitely not a leaf. We think it is an insect larva of some kind, either a beetle or fly larva. At first glance, given the shape, color and segmentation, we thought it was probably a black soldier fly larva (also known as BSFL). Black soldier fly larvae are an underappreciated, yet quite famous, bug. They are composting larvae that efficiently break down organic materials, producing little waste, and from whom organic plastic can be produced.
Brown Worm-like Creatures in Toilet are Black Soldier Fly Larvae
“What are these brown worm-like bugs in my toilet?” asks AnnaMarie in her submission regarding the two, segmented creatures pictured below. She offers no further context, and, unfortunately, the lighting is not the best, and it is hard to make out the organisms’ finer characteristics. That said, based on their shape – particularly the little tapered tip at one end of its body – we think that these might be black soldier fly larvae. How these two critters would have come to show up in AnnaMarie’s toilet is a mystery to us, as black soldier fly larvae are not typically found in this spot.
Bristly Black Worm-like Critter Found in Toilet is a Black Soldier Fly Larva
“I’ve found this worm/larva a few times recently in one of my toilets”, states our reader from South Carolina in his submission regarding the black, segmented worm-like critter pictured below. “At first I thought it was a leaf that might have fallen off my dog’s face, but when I saw it the second/third time I noticed it was moving. It’s about 3/4-1” long, about 1/4 wide and 1/4” high. It’s dark brown/black, segmented, has hairs (legs?) at the lower side or underside, and moves like a caterpillar. The narrow tapered end seems to be the head as that’s the direction it crawls. No one has used the toilet prior to finding them. YES, my dogs do drink from the toilet. I’m concerned now that I see it’s alive, that it may be coming from my dog as he drinks? It does look similar to a few things I’ve seen on your site, but finding them in the toilet is throwing me. I’m located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and have seen them four times in the past two weeks. Thanks for any guidance you can offer.”
Segmented, Black Worm Found Near Cat-caused Carnage is a Black Soldier Fly Larva
“I found this thing apparently crawling away from a scene of carnage in my dining room in Fayetteville, NY, not far from Syracuse”, writes this reader in his submission regarding the black, segmented worm-like creature pictured below. “One of my cats got a mouse, started eating it, but apparently was grossed out and threw up not far from the headless corpse of the mouse. In the process of cleaning that up, I noticed what I thought was a small cat turd about 3-4 ft away, but as I picked it up with a paper towel, it moved. And it appeared to have crawled away from the kill site.
Segmented, Gray Creature Found on Bathroom Floor is a Black Soldier Fly Larva
“I found this on my bathroom floor!” states this reader about the gray, segmented creature pictured below. “Pretty large! I live in Anderson, California.”
Segmented, Black Worm-like Creature Found in Basement is a Black Soldier Fly Larva
“Found this in my basement and I’m freaked out”, states this reader about the segmented, black worm-like creature pictured below. “Would anyone know what this could be? Thank you!”
Brown Larva with Ridges Inching Across Floor is a Black Soldier Fly Larva
“It is currently the start of winter and I noticed one morning that there is a larva- or caterpillar-like creature on my floor”, states this reader about the creature pictured below. “The larva is brown, has a small white dot where I assume the head is, and the butt is flat-ish.”
White Grub-like Creature Found in House is Likely an Immature Black Soldier Fly Larva
“What is this creature I found in my house in Coventry, UK?” asks this reader concerning the organism pictured below. The creature in question appears to have a white and gray, thick body, and a square of black sticking out from one end of its body.
Segmented, Black Worm is a Black Soldier Fly Larva
“What is this worm?” is all this reader asks in her submission. The creature she asks about is black in color, with a segmented body, and a round, pointy tip at one end of its body.
Black Soldier Fly Larvae Found in RV
“I found black soldier flies and larvae in my home,” states this reader in her submission. These critters were found in her bathroom, kitchen and on her bed, and our reader asks that we tell her how to get rid of them.
Segmented, Black Worm-like Creature is a Black Soldier Fly Larva
“What is it?” asks this reader in June Lake, California about the organism in the photograph below. This black and brown creature sports a segmented body with seemingly no legs attached, and has no discernible face.
Stubby, Segmented Worm-like Creature Found in Lounge is a BSFL
“Found these in my lounge,” says this reader about the gray-brown critter photographed below. According to our reader, this segmented creature is approximately 3/5-inch in length and 2/5-inch in width, and she has been finding an average of one per day for the past few weeks. “What is it?”
Maggots and BSFL Found Near Bin and Litterbox
A puzzling case of separate clusters of worms of different species was discovered by this woman and her caretakers in the UK. The first cluster of worms was found behind “the bin/cat food/litter,” and were deemed to be maggots, while the second cluster of unidentified worms, which were also found in the same place, were dark brown in color, and segmented.
Black Soldier Fly Larvae Found Roaming this Man’s Home
A number of worms have been crawling about this reader’s home, who suspects they are coming from under his washing machine. He wonders what exactly these gray, segmented worms are, and if they are dangerous.
Worm Hanging Out in Bicycle Shop Is Black Soldier Fly Larva
Black soldier fly larvae, a.k.a. BSFL, are common and widespread creatures. They aren’t considered pests or vector species, which means they generally don’t cause damage, destruction, or bring up any health concerns.
Phoenix Worms in the Toilet
We recently received a seemingly straightforward question from a reader: “How did a Phoenix Worm end up in my toilet?” This question about Phoenix Worms, although refreshing in its brevity, is actually a little bit tricky to answer, as it gives rise to other questions: what is a Phoenix Worm exactly (hint: it’s not a worm), and could this creature possibly end up in a toilet? If not, then what is our reader finding in his toilet? Then again, if our reader did find a Phoenix Worm in his toilet, we only have one question to answer: how did it end up there?
Are Black Soldier Fly Larvae Harmful?
We received a blunt series of questions (accompanied by a blurry photograph) about what appears to be a black soldier fly larva. The reader asked – in all capital letters – what the creature was and what “caused” it. The reader was also wondering if the creature is harmful and how she can get rid of it. Again, the picture that came along with the question, which is the only information we were given about the creature, is about as unclear as the philosophy, such as it is, of Adorno. However, it nevertheless appears to depict a black soldier fly larva, and since we have no additional information (like the location and size of the creature) to gauge this hypothesis, we’ll operate on the assumption that reader did in fact find black soldier fly larvae. The rather frantic tone of our reader’s email, implied by its capital letters and staccato style of questioning, led us to assume our reader is worried above all else that black soldier fly larvae are harmful, so we will address this concern first, and then address her other questions thereafter.
Small Black Worms – Black Soldier Fly Larvae
We receive questions about a staggering variety of worms and other worm-like creatures, making our job as worm identifiers difficult (but also interesting). However, a lot of readers inquire about the same kinds of worms (or larvae), like black soldier fly larvae, which seems to come up all the time, most recently from a reader who found them on his porch. We receive questions about these “worms,” as reader’s often refer them (even though they aren’t actually worms), because black soldier flies (and especially their larval form) are common. We have to admit we sometimes like writing about what’s familiar. We are getting ahead of ourselves, however, because we aren’t entirely certain our reader found black soldier fly larvae. So, let us first tell you what our reader found and show you the best picture he submitted, and then we’ll explain why we think he found black soldier fly larvae.
