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Posted in Caterpillars Leeches Segmented Worms Annelida

Black Worm-like Creature Could be Leech or Caterpillar

“Are these crane fly larvae, or horse-leeches?” asks Jonathan about the black, worm-like creature pictured below. “I’m in western NC. These guys are about a ¼-inch long. Closest I could find on my own research are the two stated above. Thank you for your time!” After doing some sleuthing of our own, we have always come to similar conclusions as Jonathan – this does resemble crane fly larvae somewhat (though this creature is a little darker than most crane fly larvae), and it does look like a horse leech (though not as slimy, but that could be due to drying out). In addition to these two creatures, we thought this looked like it could be a lugworm or a stick-resembling caterpillar such as the Geometer moth caterpillar.