Where did you find it?
Um, if you’ve got time to take pictures of it, don’t you have time to squash the bastard?
Works for me. I live in the subtropics and my motto is to squash first ask questions later.
He’s Lord Chixzl, from the planet Fnerb, and he brings a message of peace. Darn good thing you didn’t squash him.
My girlfriend found him crawling out from underneath the heating/AC vent (which is on the wall at the baseboard).
I flushed Lord Chixzl down the toilet. I hope he doesn’t mind 
I’m also thinking that it has to be some kind of nymph or larva. Maybe I should’ve put him in a jar to see what he’ll grow into. I be he would’ve turned into a Tingler, though 
Thanks guys.
His species uses toilets as para-dimensional portals. They gave humanity the plans for the toilet in 1857 when they first entered our Solar system. You’ve just put him in the equivalent of an inter-galactic taxi, and I’m sure he’s grateful.
Oh dear. Should we be crapping in them, then??
Why not? Why should intergalactic taxis be any different from the ones in Baltimore?
I’ve been to Baltimore. Good point.
That back and forth about intergalactic taxis and toilets had me busting a gut, guys. Thanks.
I have to go to the doctor now.
After investigating both thrip larvae and silverfish, I have to say I’m really thinking it looks a lot like a silverfish, if you added long antennae and ?cerci? I showed the photos to a coworker, and he said silverfish immediately (however also noting that it lacks the usual appendages).
According to this site their development can take up to **four years:eek: **, so maybe it takes awhile to grow those appendages. Adults are supposed to be 1/2" to 3/4" long, so this guy obviously had some room to grow yet. The above linked site also says they like to frequent ducting, which jives with where we found it (crawling out from underneath the heating vent).
So, I can tell my girlfriend we don’t have to worry about it eating the rafters, but it’ll eat our cereal, clothes, and books. Crap :rolleyes:
Well, troub, you’ve got quite the little stumper there. My guess was some kind of beetle larva. But I passed it by a couple of my entomologist colleagues, Annette and Henry, here at the Smithsonian, and here is part of Annette’s reply:
I see that you have anticipated this advice, and flushed it. This makes it much easier on everyone.
Annette thought it might be a webspinner, or Embiopterid. I don’t think it is, as they are mostly tropical, and differ in some other details.
However, I also don’t think it’s a earwig, louse, termite, booklouse, silverfish, thrips, or any of the other guesses so far (some of which haven’t been bad, though).
Despite my colleague Henry’s opinion, IMO the best bet at this point is still a beetle larva. We have requested additional opinions.
PS. I just received an e-mail from Annette after I told her you flushed it:
Nice picture deb. If you look in the corner you can see an immature form that lacks the antennae and butt doodlemabobbers (cerci?). Looks pretty gosh darned dang close to what you have in the pictures. My best uess is an immature silverfish larvae.
Is it true that when they reach full size, they will swarm out of heating ducts in the thousands? 
[sub]while they don’t actually do this, it is always wfun giving random strangers the heebie jeebies[/sub]
After careful entymological examination, I am prepared to state conclusively that what you have is the larval form of the One-Eyed, One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater.
Perhaps it is/was an undiscovered species.
From the link deb provided, it looks like a silverfish nymph. Or possibly a firebrat.
But it’s tough to say.
I don’t have a link, but my 3 yr old brought me a book to read to him with all sorts of animals in it, and Lord Chixzl looks just like the woodlouse picture. For citation, I offer Readers Digest Children’s Book of Animals by Sally Grindley (illustrated by Stuart Trotter) c.1992. The offending insect is on page 10.
Woodlice are crustaceans (specifically, isopods), not insects. They have 14 legs, not 6.