“I found this very small black worm in a t-shirt that I left on the ground,” writes this reader in his submission regarding the black worm-like critter pictured below. “I live in the city and I would like to know what this could be. This picture was taken moments after I killed it (which was kind of hard).” First off, we want to note that we never condone killing the organisms our readers find in their homes, unless they are definitely a threat to the person or their pets, or if infestations of the given organism are particularly severe (eg: carpet beetle larvae). Secondly, we want to address the identity of the creature. At first we thought it could be some kind of clothes pest, based on the fact that our reader found it on his shirt. However, this critter does not really look like any of the common clothes pests. So, what is it?

We are blessed to live in a world where fuzzy caterpillars exist. Looking like little bundles of fur, are these critters as utterly harmless as they appear to be, or are they hiding something far more sinister under their dazzling coats?