We recently received a couple of great photos of a brown caterpillar (or rather a brownish, tan caterpillar) from a reader. The reader correctly assumed he had found a caterpillar (as opposed to a worm, which is what many people who find caterpillars assume them to be), and he was wondering what kind of caterpillar he might have found. It has dark stripes on its body and what appear to be large eyes. We can’t be sure how big it is because there is no scale in the picture other than a leaf (which we also don’t know the size of), but we would guess it’s around an inch or so in length (most caterpillars are around this size). So, what is this brown, striped caterpillar?

A couple of days ago a reader sent us an amazing picture of a yellow caterpillar with black eyes. (These “eyes” are in fact eyespots, which serve no optical function, but more on this in a moment.) She had found a couple of the yellow caterpillars on her back porch and was wondering if we might be able to help with the task of identification. Although caterpillars can be extremely difficult to identify because of the sheer number of different species, we are reasonably confident our reader found a Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar, one of the hundreds of species of Swallowtail caterpillars.

We received a question through the All About Worms Facebook page about red and orange caterpillars that a reader recently found on an apple tree. To call them “red and orange caterpillars” is at once insufficient and overreaching. It is insufficient because the creatures aren’t only red and orange; they have black heads and legs, and some orange parts of their bodies might just as easily be described as yellow. White hairs also cover their bodies, and they are striped lengthwise, from head to tail. We overreach, however, in claiming without explanation that these creatures are caterpillars. The reader identifies them as worms, so we must explain why we think they are instead caterpillars. This explanation is of course tied to the matter of identification, which is what the reader is wondering about, and to that topic we now turn.

A reader asked us a couple of days ago why there are no longer Catawba worms on her Catalpa trees (or Catalpa worms on her Catawba trees – “Catalpa” and “Catawba” are interchangeable). Catawba worms make excellent fishing bait, so the reader was keen to find out how to attract them back to her trees. Since she gave no information about her circumstances, it’s of course very difficult to say why the Catawba worms left, and for similar reasons it is hard to say how to get them back. (Obviously, the two questions are related.) Even in the absence of specific information, we can still supply some general information about attracting Catawba worms to Catalpa trees, and what keeps them away.

Much like worms, caterpillars also spit juices and produce bad smells to ward off attackers. Caterpillars also have the ability to create a silk line and drop out of site if a predator approaches.

A couple of years ago, we received a question about “long, thick, black, and spiky caterpillars with white dashes and an orange stripe.” This is more or less how the reader described the creature he found, which he called a “worm.” We were confident that our reader found a caterpillar and not a worm, but without a picture, we struggled to identify the specific species of caterpillar. Then, about a year after we wrote this article, another reader sent us a picture of a spiky caterpillar with an orange stripe that matched the above description. Both readers are from South Africa, so we were fairly sure that they were dealing with the same caterpillar, yet we still weren’t able to say exactly what species of caterpillar our reader found. At long last, however, we think we have arrived at an answer: the orange and black caterpillar with spikes is an African Emperor Caterpillar (Bunaea alcinoe), which is also called a Cabbage Tree Emperor Caterpillar.

A very helpful reader wrote to us in reference to an article we published last year. It was an article about what a curious reader thought was a worm, but was in fact probably a caterpillar based on the physical description we were sent. The caterpillar was long, thick, and spiky. It was also primarily black, although the caterpillar had white dashes on its body and an orange stripe down its back. The reader who more recently wrote to us sent us a picture of what seems like the same caterpillar. We didn’t have a picture of the spiky caterpillar in the old article, so the reader sent us one. Thanks!

A reader wrote to us recently about an amazing and beautiful worm, or what is believed to be a worm, that he had found on his patio. In fact, both those adjectives were combined, making the worm, in the reader’s words, an “amazing beauty.” The worm, which is about an inch long, had a red head, white “puffs” on its back, and two large antennae. Given this worm’s aesthetic appeal, it is not surprising that the reader wanted to know what kind of worm it was.

A reader recently sent us a picture of a blue caterpillar with small black spikes on its back and large red spikes on its head. The blue, spiky caterpillar also appears to have two black eyes (even though these are actually not functional eyes, but eyespots, a defense mechanism some caterpillars use to scare away predators). The reader only sent the picture of the spiky, blue caterpillar and this deceptively simple question: “what is this?” Good question.

“Is this a case-bearing clothes moth?” asks this reader in her submission regarding the silver moth pictured below. “I’m in Georgia. Thank you for your time.” Now, while we are in the business of identifying the worm-like offspring of insects, we are not the best people to ask about adult insects, so we will have to warn our reader that the information and advice we provide may not be the most credible she could find. With that said, we will do our best to identify this organism and help her. With that said, our opinion is that she has already done the bulk of the work for us, because this does indeed look like a case-bearing clothes moth.

“What is this guy?” is all Brooke asks in her submission regarding the black, worm-like creature pictured below. It has an arched back and bulbous head, which tells us that this is an inchworm. Usually it is much harder to identify organisms without more context, or without a clearer photo, but the shape of this creature is so specific to inchworms that we knew it had to be one. Inchworms have legs at the front and back of their body, which forces them to curve their back in this way as they ‘inch’ their way forward.

“I found these small, white worms in my horse’s water bucket in the barn”, writes Jennifer about the organisms pictured below. “I have seen them hanging from a thin thread they weave in his stall before. I am trying to identify them to make sure they aren’t toxic to him if he did ingest them. Thank you in advance.” First things first, we have to make clear that, given Jennifer’s concern for her horse’s health, any suggestions we make as to the identity of these worms should only be considered in light of these organisms being deemed non-threatening to the horse by a veterinarian. Since we are not medical professionals, we are neither qualified nor legally able to identify parasites or other organisms that directly impact the health of humans or pets, as doing so is tantamount to diagnosing their medical issue. So, we recommend that Jennifer asks a vet to check her horse and inspect the worms to see if they are a threat.

“What is this?” is all Kelly Jo writes about the segmented, white worm-like critters pictured below. It looks to us like the creatures are on a bed post, but that is mere speculation based on the little we can make out from the photo. Without more context, it will not be possible for us to give an exact identification, because the physical characteristics of this creature are so commonplace among worm-like creatures that it could be any number of things. With that said, we do think it is some type of insect larva (given the brown head and segmented body), and we will list some of the most likely creatures it could be, provided Kelly Jo found the creature in her home.

“These teeny tiny worm-type things have suddenly appeared in our baby’s cot!” writes Kristin in her submission regarding the segmented creature with the bulbous head pictured below. “They look like bits of dirt initially, but when we looked closer they are moving! Could they be inchworms? And is this common in a babies cot? Thank you.” Based on the great photo Kristin sent in, as well as her keen eye for caterpillars, we can confirm that this is indeed an inchworm. Firstly, and most importantly, inchworms are not harmful to babies, or to grown adults for that matter. They are caterpillars of moth species which are endemic to North America, and they are characterized by the placement of their legs (at the front and back) which makes them arch their back as they walk.

“We live in the east San Francisco Bay Area and while on a walk, my daughter and I caught sight of these little guys crawling in a gutter area with about 1-2”of runoff water in front of our neighborhood houses”, writes Chrissy in her submission regarding the segmented, brown, worm-like critter pictured below. “There are trees above a few spots, and upstream, no trees. They are about an inch in length and seemed to resemble caterpillars, but we’re a bit flatter. They’d walk around underwater and when resting, typically had one end up floating at the surface of the water. I’m attaching two photos as we are curious about what they are! We’re hoping they’re not leeches. Thanks so much!” Of the two photos, we included the clearest one, but unfortunately, it is still difficult to discern the smaller details of the critter’s physical characteristics from this photo. Not only is the resolution not the best, but it blends in so well with the environment that it is difficult to tell which parts belong to the worm and which parts do not.

“I found this guy in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada. What can I feed him?” writes this reader about the stick-like worm pictured below. At first, we did not see what our reader was referring to. We thought it was just one long branch. But then we noticed that the twig-like object on the right did not exactly match the rest of the branch, and does look like a separate entity. We think this is a stick caterpillar, which is a larva of the peppered moth. They are not the same things as stick insects, which are not worms or larvae of any kind, but a completely different species.

“I live in southern Ontario and I noticed these little guys roaming around my apartment (see picture)”, writes Rachel in her submission regarding the tiny, black, worm-like creature pictured below. “Just wondering if I should be concerned. They seem to just crawl on my floor, the side of my mattress, and on my clothes. I’ve washed everything and swept and mopped the floors, but it’s tough to get them all. I’m just hoping they don’t turn into moths in a couple of weeks if I missed one. I’m pretty clean to begin with (as I live in a small studio) so I’m really puzzled where they came from. Thanks!”

“I found these (see attached video) underneath a paving slab, which was in the middle of a small 2m x 2m bed”, writes Sarah in her submission regarding the bright green worms pictured below. “I don’t think they are caterpillars. There was a big mass of them. Are they harmful? If so, could you suggest some options for dealing with them? I live in Cardiff, UK. Many thanks.” To start with, we have to point out that the video Sarah sent us (from which the screenshot below is taken) is really blurry, which makes it near impossible to make out any identifying information about the organisms other than their general shape and coloration. For that reason, we have to warn her that any suggestions we make as to their identity is not going to be 100% certain or accurate.

At AllAboutWorms.com, we get a lot of submissions about worms and worm-like creatures. This article will briefly outline some of the creatures that belong to the latter group. When we think of worms, we often think of an earthworm. But typically, when we find any elongated creature in the wild that remotely resembles a worm, we also assume it is one. Now, one might argue that one should not get hung up on details, but it also isn’t just a case of semantics. Knowing the difference between various species will determine how you react to a given animal, and will equip you with the knowledge of how to deal with them: are they likely to infest your home? Is your health and safety at risk? Of course, even within the category of animals that are strictly worms, you can ask these same questions, as there are thousands of worm species. But the point of this article is to identify the most common critters which are mistaken as worms, so as to educate people, but also just for fun.

“I found this caterpillar crawling on this rock outside my garage”, writes this reader in her submission regarding the black and yellow creature pictured below. “I live in Central Minnesota. I haven’t been able to identify it and I’m hoping you can tell me what it is? Thank you!” To start with, we want to thank our reader right back for this absolutely incredible photo! It is photos like these that make identifying the organisms we are asked about so much easier. Besides, they make a wonderful addition to our library. And because of this, we can indeed tell our reader what this is. This is a dogwood sawfly larva.