A reader wrote to us recently about some plump black larvae he has been finding in his RV after a water leak. At first he only found the larvae under his trashcan, but he has since spotted them in other parts of his RV – “on the bathroom floor and the carpet and around the seams where carpet stops.” We are pretty certain our reader is finding black soldier fly larvae, but that only addresses the first of his three questions. He is also wondering why the larvae are in his RV, and also how to get rid of them.

We received an email from a reader a little while ago about what appears to be a short, fat larva. The larva was in the reader’s bed climbing on her arm when she discovered it. Its color is hard to describe, but it is basically a brown or grayish hue. The reader didn’t actually ask a question, but we are assuming she is curious what she found, so we’ll focus on the matter of identification. What kind of short, fat brown or gray larva might turn up in a bed?

A reader wrote to us recently to inquire about some gross “things” she found in her yard. The things might more precisely be described as fat and white with brown heads, and the reader was wondering if she found some sort of worm or larvae. We are basically certain she found grubs, which are also called “lawn grubs” or “grub worms” (even though they are larvae), and below we provide a little more information about these creatures. The reader also mentioned that she is concerned about the “dangers they may pose for humans and pets,” so we’ll address this matter as well.

We received an interesting question from a reader recently about a brown worm or larvae that is half encased, by which we mean one end of the creature’s body is covered in some sort shell, cocoon, or other encasing, and the other end isn’t covered at all. (The picture below shows what we mean.) The worm or larvae appears to be in a middle state, as half of its body moves and wriggles around when touched, and the other half is wrapped up, seemingly prepared for a period of dormancy. The reader first found the worms next to a plant inside, but he also saw them when he was cleaning out his gutter, so evidently they are fairly common, at least in whatever part of the world our reader lives. What might these fat, brown, and partially encased worms or larvae be?