# Help me identify a grub/larva thingy
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-grub-larva-thingy/354075
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 25, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-grub-larva-thingy/354075 "2006-04-25T00:50:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-grub-larva-thingy/354075/1 "2006-04-25T00:50:33Z")
Hubby is out digging in the garden (yay daylight savings time!), and recently came across a large grub/larva thingy. I’m not sure I want to Google grubs and larvae, so I’m asking you all for some help.
The whole thing was a dark reddish brown color, like stained wood. It was about 2" - 3" long and had a diameter of 3/4" - 1". It had a very distinctive head and tail end. The head end was very dark, almost black. The tail end was a little pointy-er than the head. It was big and squirmy and gross. (Looks like they’d make you eat it on Survivor.)
Any ideas on what it was?
FWIW, we’re in Indianapolis, IN.
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2006, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-grub-larva-thingy/354075/2 "2006-04-25T01:23:31Z")
[Caterpillar Hunter Beetle larva?](http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CritterFiles/casefile/insects/beetles/ground/larva1.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-grub-larva-thingy/354075/3 "2006-04-25T01:41:17Z")
Not really enough information.
How did it move, if at all? Did it crawl like a worm? Did it have legs all the way along like a catterpillar? Just few legs at one end like in Colibri’s picture?
Did it lie flat, or was it curled up like a comma?
When you say it had a distinct head what do you mean? Did the head have eyes? Mandibles? Was the head hard and chitinous? In what way was the head distinct?
Without some more information it could be just about anything.
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### Author:  [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-grub-larva-thingy/354075/4 "2006-04-25T02:07:51Z")
[Sphinx Moth Pupae](http://cgi-host.uni-marburg.de/~omtierph/themes/neuro/images/puppe_tabakschwaermer.jpg) ? There’s a lot of Sphinx Moths, with wide range, so pretty common.
There’s a gorgeous photo of one taken by a talented botanist photog friend [here](http://laughingearth.com/gallery/) Scroll all the way down, bottom of the page, third from left.
That it?
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### Author:  [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-grub-larva-thingy/354075/5 "2006-04-25T13:10:56Z")
> [@elelle](#):
>
> [Sphinx Moth Pupae](http://cgi-host.uni-marburg.de/~omtierph/themes/neuro/images/puppe_tabakschwaermer.jpg) ? There’s a lot of Sphinx Moths, with wide range, so pretty common.
>
> There’s a gorgeous photo of one taken by a talented botanist photog friend [here](http://laughingearth.com/gallery/) Scroll all the way down, bottom of the page, third from left.
>
> That it?
That’s the closest one. I didn’t see the long narrow “tail,” but I was more grossed out by the whole thing and didn’t look too closely at it.
It looked gross and creepy, so it got flung into the woods behind the house. I’m going to assume that something like a raccoon enjoyed a tasty treat on our behalf. If we had known what it was, we probably would have found it a new home.
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### Author:  [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)
#### Post date: [April 26, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-a-grub-larva-thingy/354075/6 "2006-04-26T02:37:03Z")
Just so ya know, the long “tail” is really the forming proboscis, ie, tongue, which the moth will use to gather nectar from plants. The second photo linked was a pretty far along pupa, with well-developed eyes and mouthparts. You might have unearthed on that wasn’t as far developed.
There are plenty of them, so one tasty bit to the racoons is not to worry over.