“I saw something tiny moving on a stuffed animal, and upon taking a closer look, it was a tiny brownish worm, with a pointy ‘tail’, that hastily started hiding when I tried to pick it up”, writes this reader in her submission regarding the creature pictured below. “I shook the stuffed animal out over the bathtub – and here is what I saw (luckily only this one ‘worm’). What is it? Thank you.” Unfortunately, the photo and video our reader sent us were taken in quite poor lighting, which makes it harder to see the finer details of the critter’s physical characteristics.

That said, we would say this looks like some type of insect larva, perhaps a beetle larva. In the video, the creature’s movement suggests that it possesses some legs, as it seems to crawl across a surface rather than slither or wriggle across it. Most beetle larvae species are harmless to humans and pets, so our reader needs not worry for the health of herself or whoever owns the stuffed animal. That said, some larvae can secrete toxins which could cause a mild allergic reaction like itching or stinging. For that reason, we recommend avoiding physical contact and washing the stuffed animal.

Likewise, it might be a good idea to check the area where the stuffed animal was when the worm was found. If more larvae are found, we recommend washing any other stuffed animals, bed sheets, clothing, or other textiles that were near this stuffed animal, so as to eliminate any eggs or larvae that could be there. If more larvae are found in different spots, then we also recommend laundering the appropriate items in those spots. Similarly, vacuuming her home will be helpful in achieving the same thing. Hopefully it really was just a one-off thing, and this is just a case of a lone larva wandering into her home. However, if she finds more larvae even after cleaning, fear not. Sometimes it takes several cleans to fully eliminate an infestation.

To conclude, we think that the larva our reader found on a stuffed animal is possibly a beetle larva, due to its body shape, coloration, and supposed possession of legs. It should not be harmful, but we still recommend avoiding direct physical contact, due to the risk of experiencing an allergic reaction. We hope this proves helpful, or at least informative, and we wish her the very best!

Summary

Article Name

Brown Worm on Stuffed Animal is a Beetle Larva

Description

"I saw something tiny moving on a stuffed animal, and upon taking a closer look, it was a tiny brownish worm, with a pointy 'tail', that hastily started hiding when I tried to pick it up", writes this reader in her submission regarding the creature pictured below. "I shook the stuffed animal out over the bathtub - and here is what I saw (luckily only this one 'worm'). What is it? Thank you." Unfortunately, the photo and video our reader sent us were taken in quite poor lighting, which makes it harder to see the finer details of the critter's physical characteristics.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton