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Posted in Caterpillars Worms Found in the House Worms Generally

Curled-up, Dark Green Worm Could be a Caterpillar

“What is this I found in my room?” asks Christina about the green, worm-like creature pictured below. “I have no idea what this is but it freaked me out. I think it might have come from my cat. Either way, I feel itchy now. I ended up deep cleaning my sheets.” To us, this creature looks like a caterpillar: based on its green coloration, patterned skin, and the shape of its body. That said, it is difficult to tell exactly what it looks like, given that it is curled up into a ball. This is typical behaviour of many caterpillar species though. They do this when they feel threatened. But it must be said that other species of worm-like creatures also display this behaviour, like millipedes, so it does not necessarily indicate that this is definitely a caterpillar.

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Posted in Case Bearing Larva Caterpillars Worms Found in the House

Half White, Half Black Worms By Rabbit Cage Could be Casemaking Clothes Moth Caterpillars

“I’ve seen these worms the last two mornings on my kitchen floor next to my rabbit cage”, writes Matthew about the curious creature pictured below. “Can you identify them? They’re TINY, with a half white, half black body.” First of all, thank you for the excellent photograph Matthew: we see exactly what you mean by the worm’s half white, half black body, and this is something we haven’t quite seen before. The thinner, white part resembles that of a generic insect larva (many of them being a similar, translucent white color), while the thicker, black part looks almost like a shell encasing the lower half of the worm.

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Inch Worms

Black-headed Worm-like Critters Swarming Fireplace are Inchworms

“What worm is this?”, asks this reader about the small, black-headed organism pictured below. “I live in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and I just found these little worms all over my fireplace. I’ve never seen them before. Some were inching along but there were also a number of them hanging from the fireplace from very thin threads (so thin I couldn’t see them).” Now, the key phrase here is “inching”, as that describes pretty well the creature we believe our reader is dealing with: an inchworm. Why they are called inchworms is because of the exact motion that our reader describes; they pull their bodies across a surface using legs located at the front and back of their bodies, thus forcing them to arch the middle of their bodies (which does not have any legs) and ‘inch’ forward. Likewise, they are able to generate a silk-like string from which they can quickly eject and hang on to as they jump off a surface, which is a defense mechanism they use to get away from predators.

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Posted in Caterpillars Garden Worms Worms Generally

Black Worms with White Spots Gathering Underneath Mattress are Lily Caterpillars

“What are these worms gathering underneath my son’s mattress?” asks this mother from Melbourne Australia. Her question pertains to the minuscule, black worms with white polka dots in the photos below.