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RAUK - Archived Forum - Grey wriggly things

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Grey wriggly things:

Author	Message
GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF	Posted: 09 Nov 2004 Hi all, I hope someone can give me a slightly more accurate name for some grey wriggly things I observed under logs today. They were approx. 1/2 inch long, grey and something like thin maggots. I would have thought they were just fly larva but there was no sign of rotting animal matter, just the rotting logs. They were in groups of several hundred and very active when disturbed. Any ideas of what they may be appreciated. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

Danny13 Senior Member Joined: 03 Oct 2004 No. of posts: 52 View other posts by Danny13	Posted: 09 Nov 2004 Hi i dont know much about insects but its probably just some sort of maggot or larva. Mabey there was a carcus there which has since been consumed, just a thought.

GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF	Posted: 09 Nov 2004 Hi Danny, that was my first thought also, that they had been busy eating a carcass, but I then found 4-5 more groups under rotting logs throughout the wood. I've looked under many logs for amphibians before and not come across anything quite like these things. My camera isn't working, but I'll try to get a picture of them somehow to post on the forum. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

justin Member Joined: 26 Feb 2004 No. of posts: 5 View other posts by justin	Posted: 09 Nov 2004 i too have seen these would be nice to find out what they are i have looked under log piles for years and never seen these before justin

GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF	Posted: 10 Nov 2004 As my camera was just having a holiday and decided to work this morning here are some pictures of the grey wriggly things..... I had a closer look today and they look more like caterpillars than maggots, with a defined head. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

Robert V Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 No. of posts: 717 View other posts by Robert V	Posted: 10 Nov 2004 Gemma those thin grey things are called fingers aren't they? hee hee. Seriously, they sort of resemble blood worms that are used for fishing but I wouldn't know the latin name for them. If you have gold fish in a pond, I'm sure they'd be only too pleased if you dropped them in! R RobV

GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090 View other posts by GemmaJF	Posted: 10 Nov 2004 LOL Rob, goldfish in our pond...perish the thought I would electro-fish the lot of them! I did consider feeding some of the wriggly things to our rescued B.orientalis though :0) I suppose I could always grow a few on in a jar and see what they turn into. Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant

Vicar Senior Member Joined: 02 Sep 2004 No. of posts: 1181 View other posts by Vicar	Posted: 12 Nov 2004 Just a thought...hard to say from the pic, but they look a little like leatherjackets, Crane fly larvae, which eat rotting vegetable matter/plant roots etc. Steve Langham - Chairman Surrey Amphibian & Reptile Group (SARG).

- Grey wriggly things

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