Late last month we received a couple of pictures of worms, along with a question about what they might be. The pictures of the worms (if they even are worms) appear to be taken with a microscope. The worms were found by the soap dish in the reader’s house, which perhaps isn’t the first pace you’d expect to see worms (or worm-like creatures) in your house, but it’s actually not too bizarre, as many worms and larvae thrive in moist environments, and the water around a soap dish might provide just such an environment. What are these worms by the soap dish?

In normal circumstances, receiving pictures of worms is very helpful for the purpose of identification, but in the present case, the pictures have only perplexed us. Here is the first picture submitted by the reader:

This is the worm (or whatever it might be) that was found by the soap dish. The reader also sent us this picture:

Accompanying this picture is a question about whether this is a “parasitic worm larva.” And here is where the confusion begins (or continues, rather).

First, we aren’t sure if these pictures depict the same creature. They of course look very different, but that may just be because the top picture only shows one small part of the creature in the bottom picture. As a related concern, we also have no idea what size these things (and we use the word “things” deliberately) might be. Again, these look like pictures taken through a microscope, and that only adds a layer of confusion to their size. Are these things microscopic? If so, we can’t imagine that the reader found worms or larvae of any sort. We know of no type of either that can’t be seen with the naked eye (although the larval form of some insects can be extremely small).

Normally when we are uncertain about how to answer a reader’s question, we have at least a few go-to suggestions for what type of worms (or larvae) our readers might have found. In this case, though, we are completely lost. We are swimming in a sea of confusion, searching for concrete information – the size of the creature, if they are in fact the same creature; the environment in which these creatures were found; etc. – to cling to in a desperate attempt to gain some orientation.

Despite our confusion, we always try our hardest to get our readers’ questions answered, and when we are utterly stumped, we turn to our global audience. Does anyone know anything about the thing(s) depicted in these pictures? If so, please leave a comment below. We (and our reader) appreciate it.

• 
•