Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, a few years ago, there were a bunch of white, grubby looking caterpillars roaming around in my apartment complex. Me and my friends were pretty intrigued, so we took a look at them, and they had teeth. I know because my friend put his finger near it's mouth and it bit him(so he says).

So yeah: white and grubby; burrow underground; have teeth. I was thinking they were a moth's caterpillar/larvae, but I don't know for sure. If you know what they are, or think you know what they are, please tell me. It's been bugging me to find out WHAT they are.

They kinda look like that worm from Dune.

No pics, sorry.

Hi - never saw Dune so can't compare, but it sounds more like a beetle grub. Neither caterpillars nor grubs have "teeth" but some do have very strong mandibles, which are teeth equivalent - it is what they chew with. Some beetle grubs (larvae) can gnaw thru wood and can indeed give quite pinch!

Do a google image search for "white beetle grub" or something similar and see if that fits. Maybe do one for your state as well. If you live in the south you may have many different species than what we have here in the north.

Years ago I had a weird incident with an onslaught of beetle grubs in the middle of the night - it was very spooky and weird. Even though I am pretty bug savvy now I still do not know what sort of beetle larvae they were or why there were hundreds of them all at once! :-O

Yep, that's them. Thanks!

And that's weird. I've read some insects build organized armies! :0 That could only be in the movie Ants, though. Not sure.

Actually it is quite true - not just ants or sci-fi!! Army worms (which are caterpillars) ravage fields of crops! I live in NH and just a few years ago there were fields in Maine that were devastated by them! Grubs of many beetles can do the same and then there are the locusts! Check out the link below to read about the locust in the midwest. Keep an eye on the 6-legged!!! :-O
Locust: The Devastating Rise and Mysterious Disappearance of the Insect That Shaped the American Fro