# ID this worm-looking thing **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2021, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062 "2021-09-21T15:19:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/1 "2021-09-21T15:19:36Z")
Found in my house. I did not measure but it is in the range of 1-2". Shown on a Bounty paper towel. [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/900wqw46qah9h8l/worminhouse.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/900wqw46qah9h8l/worminhouse.jpg?dl=0) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/2 "2021-09-21T15:38:32Z")
Doing an image search for “segmented brown worm-like thing with two antennae”, two of the images that look most like that led me to the same “All About Worms” website, where people sent in their bug pics, and the owner of the site theorized millipede, since true worms do not have antennae. It said that millipede legs can often be very small and hard to see. Is it possibly a millipede? Does it maybe have small legs that are hard to see? > **[Earthworm with Feelers? Probably Millipedes - All About Worms](https://www.allaboutworms.com/earthworm-with-feelers-probably-millipedes)** > > Earthworms do not have antennae, as the reader indirectly implies, so we think she might have actually found some type of millipede. > **[Segmented Worm with Antennae Found in Bathroom is a Millipede - All About Worms](https://www.allaboutworms.com/segmented-worm-with-antennae-found-in-bathroom-is-a-millipede)** > > This worm-like creature pictured below was found in this reader's toilet and wash basin. She has seen two or three worms like this so far, and asks us if we can tell her what they are. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/3 "2021-09-21T15:48:23Z")
Paging @Darren_Garrison … ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/4 "2021-09-21T16:22:17Z")
Centipede. I can’t tell for sure if it has one pair of legs or two per segment, but it definitely has long antennae and a pair of butt antennae (technical term.) > **[What Is The Difference Between a Millipede and Centipede | Terminix](https://www.terminix.com/blog/bug-facts/are-millipedes-and-centipedes-poisonous/)** > > What are the differences between a millipede and centipede? Are millipedes poisonous while centipedes are not? Find out with Terminix pest control experts. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/5 "2021-09-21T16:22:39Z")
It is very likely a millipede based on those sites. I dumped it outside so no way to interrogate it about its legs. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/6 "2021-09-21T16:25:15Z")
Now I’m thinking I agree with this. We have seen other centipedes but with much longer legs, no question about what they are. Is this a young one? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/7 "2021-09-21T16:26:25Z")
> [@solost](#): > > led me to the same “All About Worms” website BTW, _This_ is the site to go to for IDs of all things arthropod. > **[Welcome to BugGuide.Net!](https://bugguide.net/node/view/15740)** > > An online resource devoted to North American insects, spiders and their kin, offering identification, images, and information. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/8 "2021-09-21T16:30:39Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > We have seen other centipedes but with much longer legs, no question about what they are. Is this a young one? There are thousands of species of centipedes in a large range of sizes. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/9 "2021-09-21T16:31:01Z")
I think the picture in the OP is a millipede. Centipedes look completely different. This is a Texas centipede. You can’t tell from the picture, but it’s about six inches long. [![](https://i.imgur.com/XqIVfOW.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/XqIVfOW.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/10 "2021-09-21T16:34:11Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Centipedes look completely different. > **[Class Chilopoda - Centipedes](https://bugguide.net/node/view/20)** > > An online resource devoted to North American insects, spiders and their kin, offering identification, images, and information. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/11 "2021-09-21T17:56:34Z")
I’m pretty sure that is the insect Khan used in the movie. I suggest ear plugs for a while. Seriously, looks like a centipede to me. Something like [Centipede - BugGuide.Net](https://bugguide.net/node/view/1825967) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/12 "2021-09-21T19:02:56Z")
Millipedes look completely different too (the ones I’ve seen). It looks more like a centipede than a millipede. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2021, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-worm-looking-thing/951062/13 "2021-09-21T20:24:28Z")
Centipede. Millipedes don’t have the backwards-facing legs on the last segment, generally have shorter antennae, and are more often more heavily armoured. If I were to guess, it’s some sort of _Geophilus_ species. Possibly _[G. flavus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophilus_flavus)_, although it could be a different one . Although I gather it’s the most common one. It looks like this: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Geophilus_flavus.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Geophilus_flavus.jpg) P.S. what is it with the centipedes on paper towels?