What is this worm-like creature?

bugmankeith

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I have never seen these before. They look like earthworms, but they crawl along a slime web thing under a log and do not burrow in the soil. They hate the light.
 

ZephAmp

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Looks like some sort of earthworm to me. Many species will also live in rotting wood or under stones near water.
 

Dreadz

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Its defiantly not a earthworm. Looks to me like a larva of some sort of moth or something. I saw a show on the discovery channel about a creature like the one in the photo that lives in caves and uses bioluminescence to attract its prey. It uses the sticky slime trails to capture moths and other small insects in caves. Other than that cant tell you exactly what it is:?.
 

ZephAmp

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Its defiantly not a earthworm. Looks to me like a larva of some sort of moth or something. I saw a show on the discovery channel about a creature like the one in the photo that lives in caves and uses bioluminescence to attract its prey. It uses the sticky slime trails to capture moths and other small insects in caves. Other than that cant tell you exactly what it is:?.
The sheen and segmentation is what made me think worm... I think another picture or a description of their locomotive features would help.

Perhaps some sort of maggot?
 

Deroplatys

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Fungus gnat or midge larvae i think, its deffiniatly a fly larvae of some kind.
 

Pssh

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I dont think they are a type of fly larvae. I'm also inclided to believe that it is some kind of (earth) worm. Worms do indeed crawl up out of the earth, especially if the new location is more suitable for survival.

A description of movment style or a video may make it easier to at least identify what type of animal it is.
 

H. laoticus

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Its defiantly not a earthworm. Looks to me like a larva of some sort of moth or something. I saw a show on the discovery channel about a creature like the one in the photo that lives in caves and uses bioluminescence to attract its prey. It uses the sticky slime trails to capture moths and other small insects in caves. Other than that cant tell you exactly what it is:?.
You read my mind lol
 

xhexdx

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It's a worm, not a caterpillar (what we call moth and butterfly larvae).
 

Mat

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Worms

Too many segments and no head capsule rules out it being a fly or moth larva.
 

Upjohn252

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It is an Annelid aka earthworm

---------- Post added at 05:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:28 PM ----------

It is an Annelid aka earthworm
Earthworms use copious amounts of slime to facilitate movement through the soil. If they were not burrowing some other factor is in play, eg. if the soil substrate is very wet they will have surface so as to breathe...in any case the segmented ringed body indicates definately an annellid
 

Deroplatys

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Hasnt anyone seen those glowing midge larvae that hang from cave ceilings?
 

LeilaNami

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It is an Annelid aka earthworm

---------- Post added at 05:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:28 PM ----------



Earthworms use copious amounts of slime to facilitate movement through the soil. If they were not burrowing some other factor is in play, eg. if the soil substrate is very wet they will have surface so as to breathe...in any case the segmented ringed body indicates definately an annellid
Agreed. Also, the presence of the clitellum (though not always heavily pronounced) denotes some species of earthworm.
 

LeilaNami

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They're Brachyceran fly larvae...the primitive flies have a head capsule.
Haha I believe you're right. I thought a saw a clitellum but maybe not. I do, however, think I see larval mandibles when I zoom in on the picture.
 

Mat

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Nope - still far too many segments for a fly larva, Brachycera or not. :)
 

spydrhunter1

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The question...are those true segments? fly larvae often have crenulations of the individual segments. Brachypterous larvae have 11-12 true segments.
 

bugmankeith

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When you zoom in one end is almost round and whitish at the tip, not an earthworm, they have pointy ends on both sides. Plus these only glide on that slime trail/web, earthworms will move off the log to get away, these did not move.

I am thinking they are larvae to something, but what I am nor sure, as first time I have seen them, and I cant observe them at night for bioluminesence.
 
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