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Posted in Parasite Worms Pest Worms Worms Found in the House

Array of Worm-like Critters Invade Home, Including Microscopic Worms From Faucets

“Translucent, striped, microscopic, hairlike worms in Miami Beach apartment water faucets”, writes this reader in her submission regarding the array of organisms pictured below. “I had previously found this after bathing my dog with Septol. This nightmare never ends. Now I noticed they come from our faucets. What is going on? I’m so scared. Thanks for your help.” The first thing we want to bring attention to is our use of the phrase “array of organisms”; we do think our reader is actually dealing with multiple different organisms that are not necessarily related. For example, the yellowing, segmented worm-like creature pictured below looks to us like a fly larva (maggot). People can commonly get these during the summer as flies enter the home and lay eggs in one’s organic compost. The best way to tackle these is to consistently throw out compost and larvae in trash cans outside, keep one’s kitchen clean, and maybe buy fly traps if the issue is bad enough.

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Posted in Case Bearing Larva Worms Facts Worms Generally

Brown “Rice-shaped” Organisms are Pupae

“Does anyone know what these brown rice-shaped casings are?” is all this reader asks in her submission regarding the ovate object pictured below. Well, to start with, we want to commend our reader on the excellent photo she has taken: it truly makes things easier when we try to identify the organisms our readers are asking about. When it comes to this particular organism, or potential “casing”, we would say this looks like a pupa. The pupal stage is the third one in an insect’s life cycle: the first being the egg stage, the second being the larval stage, and the third and final being the adult stage (when they have matured into a fully-formed insect, like a moth or a fly).

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Posted in Caterpillars Worms Found in the House Worms Generally

Light Brown, “Crunchy” Organisms Found in Laundry Hamper are Pupae

“What is this?” asks this reader about the light brown, ovate organism pictured below. “I live in Idaho and these weren’t there yesterday when I set my laundry hamper there on the dryer. But when I moved it, I then later noticed them. They are hard and crunchy. My assumption is that they are possibly eggs? I just want to know if it’s something I need to get taken care of. Thank you.” Based on the photo alone, we would say that these are probably not eggs: this object looks far too big to be an egg, and its brown coloration makes us think it is more likely that this is a pupa.

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Posted in Worms Facts Worms Found in the House Worms Generally

Larvae in Carpet and Transparent “Being” in Sink Worry This Reader

“I am trying to figure out what these critters are in the carpet, so that I can eliminate them”, states this reader from Oklahoma in his submission. “I fear they are larvae of some type.”

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Posted in Interesting Worms Worms Facts Worms Generally

Brown-red Blobs Found in Sink are an Unsolved Mystery

“Found both of these in my bathroom sink one day” is all this reader states in her submission concerning the brown-red blobs pictured below. One of them looks like a flat triangle of reddish-brown goo, while the other one looks like it has more shape.

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Posted in Caterpillars Interesting Bugs Worms Generally

Thick, Brown Worm is Actually a Sphinx Moth Pupa

“This animal appears to have an exoskeleton and is a really thick worm,” reports this reader in Spring Hill, Florida. “What is this guy?” she asks about the brown, segmented creature pictured below.

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Posted in Worms Facts Worms Found in the House Worms Generally

Oddly-Shaped Pupae Found in Black Mold and Drains in Texas

Odd-looking, black organisms have been found by this reader in Ft. Worth, Texas. The organisms in question are being found in an area of her home that is moist and heavy with black mold, as well as near drains.

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Posted in Carpet Beetle Larvae Caterpillars Worms Generally

How to Spot a Pupa

Most of the articles we write at AllAboutWorms deal with some sort of worm-like creature, which is usually either an insect at the beginning of its life cycle (a larva) or a mature worm (an earthworm or millipede, for example), but what about that in-between stage, where a creature will neither look like a larva, nor whatever creature it grows up to be? Most insects will have a pupal stage that comes between the larval and final stage, and this article will provide some insight into how to spot an insect at this stage, before it breaks free an adult.

Posted in Earthworms

How to Handle Cocoons

You should not handle cocoons if you do not want to disturb this crucial stage in the life cycle of insects. Unfortunately, in this stage the insect is mostly defenseless.