I mulched my beds heavily with shredded leaves throughout the winter this year. Since I live in zone 9b, worms have been munching away on this and the population have exploded. Everything grows grand with this it seems, especially the celery, but when I just recently transplanted out some red celery, I noticed large groups of a worm/larvae in many places. It's like they are together in colonies, in the first 1/2 inch of soil protected by the leaf layer. I grabbed a handful and gave it to the chickes, and ohh boy did they love them. I now which I had no plants in the beds so I can let these dinos loose on the beds.
Anywho, I'd like to get some help in identifying these creatures. They kind of look like crane fly larvae (leatherjackets), but they are thinner and shorter. Due to the sheer volume of these critters, I'm afraid they will wreak havoc once spring comes along. I added an earthworm for comparison.
Worm/larvae Identification Help
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!potatoes!
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- Posts: 1938
- Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:13 pm
- Location: wnc - zones 6/7 line
I would need some close-ups for positive I.d...fly or beetle larvae, most likely. thinner than bsf...
if they're decomposers that are chopping up your leaf-mulch, they're not likely to wreak any other kind of havoc than that. it's possible the adults could have some impact...but still not that likely.
if they're decomposers that are chopping up your leaf-mulch, they're not likely to wreak any other kind of havoc than that. it's possible the adults could have some impact...but still not that likely.