We received an excellent photo a while ago of what a reader described as two large groupings – or “packs” – of small white worms or larvae that were formed in lines. Since we are pretty certain she found fungus gnat larvae, or more specifically what are sometimes called “fungus gnat larvae snakes,” we will refer to them only as “small white larvae,” and not hedge by writing “small white larvae or worms.” The reader found the lines of white larvae – or we suppose they are actually more like see-through larvae with black heads – on her concrete patio, and was merely wondering what they are. As we said above, they look like gnat fly larvae, so the reader’s question has technically already been answered, but below we provide a little more information about these strange configurations of creations. What exactly are fungus gnat larvae, and why do they group together to form “snakes.”

Recently we received yet another question about tiny white worms with black heads. This time, the small worms (or more likely larvae) were in a swarm on the ceiling. There are probably at least a hundred worms or larvae in the picture we were sent, and they are all in a small area of the ceiling, tightly packed together. The reader indicated that we had tentatively identified similar creatures in the past as moth fly larvae, and was wondering if the small white worms (or larvae) with black heads that he found are moth fly larvae.

We received an interesting question from a reader the other day via the All About Worms Facebook page about “some sort of short white maggot” crawling out of the abdomen of a cricket. The reader feeds the crickets to his chameleon, and recently gnats have been found in the “chameleon’s habitat.” The reader speculated there might be a connection between the gnats and the short white maggots – indeed, he thought the maggots might be the gnats themselves – and asked us to weigh in on the matter. What type of short white maggot could be inside a cricket?