A reader wrote to us a few days ago about some small black worms she found at the bottom of her kids' laundry basket. She also found a couple more worms when transferring their clothes from the washing machine to the drier, so the worms can evidently be traced back to the clothing of her children. The reader was wondering what these black worms in the laundry basket are, and we think they might be leeches (which are actually worms) or potentially slugs (which aren't worms). Continue reading [...]…

Can worms see? And if so, how is this possible if they don't have eyes (at least in the everyday sense of the term "eyes")? Continue reading [...]…

On the All About Worms Facebook page, we were asked what causes Catawba worms to leave a Catalpa tree after many years. (We could have just as easily written "what causes Catalpa worms to leave Catawba trees," as "Catalpa" and "Catawba" are interchangeable.) After many years of enjoying the leaves of a tree, why would Catawba worms simply leave? This is a difficult question to answer because there are various reasons why Catawba worms might leave any given Catalpa tree, and why they left our reader's trees in particular is impossible for us to say without knowing anything about his circumstances. He merely asked "what will make" the worms leave. To a generic question we can only provide a generic answer, so we'll explain some of the general reasons Catawba worms leave Catalpa trees. Continue reading [...]…

We received a reader question a while back about a brown worm that he found. The worm was thick, and about five centimeters long. Although the worm (or caterpillar, as we shall see) was primarily brown, it had a little red on its underside. Most notably, the worm's exterior looked like a bottlebrush shrub ("bottlebrushes" is an informal term that refers to the shrub species that belong to the Callistemon genus). Not surprisingly, bottlebrushes resemble bottle brushes, which basically look like toilet cleaning brushes, with all the stiff bristles. This is a long way of saying that the worm our reader found had a lot of spiky bristles on it. Since the reader found the worm on his daughter's bed, he was wondering if the worm was dangerous to children, and also where the worms tend to live. Continue reading [...]…

A very nice and enthusiastic reader wrote to us recently about earthworms that live in the soil of Omaha, Nebraska. The reader was able to find plenty of information about worms that are used for composting (which are typically red worms, commonly called red wiggler worms), but couldn't seem to find much on plain old earthworms that you find in soil. Allow us to be of assistance. Continue reading [...]…

A little while ago, a reader wrote to us about worms in an ice machine, by which he meant the type of machine you might find in a break room at an office or in a restaurant kitchen. The reader didn't see the worms in the ice machine himself, but merely heard a report of worms being there, and so he was wondering if it is even possible to find a worm in an ice machine. If it is possible, he further wondered, how did the worms get into the ice machine? The reader didn't express interest in what type of worm might be in the machine (if it even is a worm - it might be a maggot, as we shall see), but we'll have to speculate on this matter in the course of answering our reader's precise questions. Continue reading [...]…

A reader recently sent us a photo of three worms she found. Two of the worms are large, at least relative to the third worm, which is fairly small. The reader notes that one of the worms is "mature with clittelum," and also notes that it is dark red. This appears to be so, and it seems that at least one of the other worms has a clittum too. (Thus, we are dealing with clitella, the latinate plural form of clitellum, even though people often write "clitellums," and hence the addition of this word in the title of this article.) The reader asked us to identify the three worms, which she submitted a picture of, and we have a ready and simple answer: all three seem to be earthworms. We think they are earthworms because they look like earthworms, and the fact that at least two have a visible clitellum lends further credence to this suggestion. Continue reading [...]…

At any given time, the human body may be infected with dozens of different types of parasites, such as worms. Some parasites are microscopic while other worms in humans are quite visible to the naked eye. Certain types of parasites are found more often in animals; for example, the bloodworm typically infects horses. Other types of parasites may affect humans more often. In all, there are more than 3,200 types of parasites in existence today and they are divided into the following categories: Cestoda, Nematoda, Protozoa, and Trematoda. Continue reading [...]…

A reader wrote to us about some bumps on the leaves of his trees. Although the leaf bumps are only, well, bumps, the reader suspects that "it's worms." What precisely he means is unclear, but we suspect he means that either worms are causing the bumps on the leaves, or perhaps that the worms are somehow disguised as, or covered by, the bumps on the leaves. The reader also asked "how to get rid of them," and again it isn't exactly clear what this means because "them" is undefined. In any case, we'll have to focus on the prior question - are the bumps on the leaves worms (or something else, like larvae or leaf galls?) - as this matter must be settled before there is any talk of remedies or elimination. A diagnosis always precedes a cure. Continue reading [...]…

We recently received a question from a reader about whether or not it is possible to fish with hammerhead worms. The reader didn't actually ask about hammerhead worms specifically, but she sent us a picture of what we are basically certain is a hammerhead worm, and then asked if she can fish with it. We'll first provide some basic information about these creatures, and then we'll move on to the more specific topic of fishing with hammerhead worms. Continue reading [...]…

A reader from Texas wrote to us recently about some "hairlike worms" he is finding on the sidewalk after it rains. The hairlike worms (or hair-like worms - both are correct) are six inches to nine inches in length, which is long given their incredibly thin bodies. The reader wants to know what the hairlike worms are, and we are virtually certain we know the answer: horsehair worms. We suppose we could stop here, having unraveled the hairlike worm mystery, but below we'll provide some information about and pictures of horsehair worms to round out the article. Continue reading [...]…

The Wooly Worm Festival and Beattyville Car Show take place in the small town of Beattyville Kentucky. The Beattyville Kentucky Car Show features classic autos of all kinds displayed by owners from all over the country. Continue reading [...]…

We received a very short question a while back about worms that smell bad and shed their skin. More precisely, we were asked "what kind of earthworm sheds its tail and sprays a strong smell in defense?" So, the reader is wondering about earthworms specifically (or technically the tail of earthworms) that produce some sort of odor in self-defense. Regardless of our reader's interests, though, we suspect he is misusing the word "earthworm." For reasons we will spell out below, he seems to be describing a millipede, or potentially some type of caterpillar, both of which molt (shed) and can smell bad. Continue reading [...]…

Centipedes have flattened bodies and a pair of long, slender antennae. They also have a pair of claws just behind the head. Millipedes and centipedes have segmented bodies, but millipedes have short antennae. Continue reading [...]…

A while back, we were sent one of the grimmer questions we've ever encountered here at All About Worms. The reader reported that after smoking crack, she saw and felt small white worms all over her body. The worms crawled out from between her toes and protruded from every part of her skin. The reader is a seasoned crack smoker, having used the drug for years, and nothing like this has ever happened before. The reader is scared to go to a doctor because she doesn't want to reveal her drug use and she also doesn't want to get sent to a psychiatric institution. She therefore wrote to us, asking us this question: "What do you think is going on and how do you think I can get help?" Continue reading [...]…

A reader wrote to us recently about some worms she is finding in "dark places" around her house. More specifically, she is finding the worms "in lounge, under sofa, behind sofa," so evidently the worms have taken to hiding around or under furniture. The worms, which are about an inch long, are a cream color with brown tips, although some appear to be mostly brown, which makes them difficult to see because they are the same color as her carpet, and they are always on her carpet. The reader wants two questions answered: what are the cream and brown one-inch worms she is finding, and how can she get rid of them? Continue reading [...]…

A reader asks, “How do you get heart worms in the human heart?” Naturally, we at All About Worms are not medical professionals of any kind and our statements should in no circumstances be taken to constitute medical advice, but we do believe we possess a set of knowledge items germane to this reader’s concern. The reader asks specifically about those types of worms, if any, which may invade the human heart, a concern which is understandable both because of its obvious consequences for human health and due to the fact that popular accounts of heartworm tend to center on its occurrence in dogs and other animal hosts. Continue reading [...]…

The pin worm belongs to the family Oxyuridae, order Oxyuroidea, and the phylum Nematoda. Pin worms are classified as Enterobius vermicularis. Threadworms are also classified as Enterobius vermicularis. Pin worms are also called “seatworms” and they have several spellings, including “pinworm” and “pinworms.” Continue reading [...]…

According to the Cornell Waste Management Institute of the famed Cornell University, worms do not bite. In fact, in nature wax worms do not feed on anything but pollen, honey, cocoons, and beeswax. Wax worm breeders have no problems feeding their inventory of wax worms without the help of pollen and cocoons. These squirmy little creatures can also survive off of an artificial diet of a mixture of dog food, water, and honey or a mixture of Gerber's mixed cereal, glycerin, honey, and water. Continue reading [...]…

Grub worms feed on plants and the roots of turf grasses and the adult beetles feed on trees, shrubs, and other foliage. While grub worms are harmless to humans, they can be devastating to crops mainly because they feed on crop roots. Continue reading [...]…