Caterpillar, larvae or maggot?

Request help to identify insects or other creatures. Please post the location that the insect you want to identify came from, this will help greatly in species determination.
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Baldie
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Caterpillar, larvae or maggot?

Post by Baldie »

I found two of these today crawling on the floor of my kitchen.
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Jshuey
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Re: Caterpillar, larvae or maggot?

Post by Jshuey »

Looks like a maggot (fly larva). Pretty small - right? Could be a fruit fly larvae is so.

john
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Re: Caterpillar, larvae or maggot?

Post by Baldie »

Jshuey wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2024 1:41 pm Pretty small - right?

It looked longer than a fly. But I think it still could be fly larvae as you said. Because even though it is now longer than a fly,it could still evolve and change shape when and if it becomes an adult fly.
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kevinkk
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Re: Caterpillar, larvae or maggot?

Post by kevinkk »

That's a fly larva. You must have some food source, or possibly they came in from outdoors on a pet. They shouldn't be crawling around unless they're looking for a pupation spot, and have left the food source.
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Re: Caterpillar, larvae or maggot?

Post by Baldie »

DAMN man. I don't have a pet and I yell(not in a disrespectful manner) at anyone who even leaves the door open for a fly to come in. So my house is a zero fly zone. I have to be on alert more often now. Wait. I'll post another question on another particular insect who I think is responsible but it is very extremely least likely.
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adamcotton
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Re: Caterpillar, larvae or maggot?

Post by adamcotton »

Baldie wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:59 pm I'll post another question on another particular insect who I think is responsible but it is very extremely least likely.
You won't see the maggots of Psychodidae in the other question, they live in drainpipes, usually in the bathroom, and they are way smaller than this fly maggot.

I would agree with @kevinkk, this does look like a full grown maggot looking for somewhere to pupate.

Maybe you had a dead Hemidactylus house gecko somewhere in the room, and the two maggots ate it and emerged to look for a place to pupate?

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Re: Caterpillar, larvae or maggot?

Post by Baldie »

adamcotton wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2024 6:51 pm
Baldie wrote: Sat Nov 30, 2024 5:59 pm I'll post another question on another particular insect who I think is responsible but it is very extremely least likely.
You won't see the maggots of Psychodidae in the other question, they live in drainpipes, usually in the bathroom, and they are way smaller than this fly maggot.

I would agree with @kevinkk, this does look like a full grown maggot looking for somewhere to pupate.

Maybe you had a dead Hemidactylus house gecko somewhere in the room, and the two maggots ate it and emerged to look for a place to pupate?

Adam.
It's astonishing how you guessed there were geckos also living in our house . :o :) We usually call them yellow lizards. What do you think I should do next? Get rid of the geckos so this doesn't repeat itself?
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Re: Caterpillar, larvae or maggot?

Post by adamcotton »

I live in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and not only do we have numerous small house geckoes, Hemidactylus, but also several giant Tokay Gekko gecko under the eaves and all around outside. Tokay geckoes are named for their mating call "tokay ... tokay ... tokay ..." - the larger they are the more they repeat the call in a single series. The largest can be about 30cm long. The Hemidactylus have a strange "tutt, tutt, tutt" mating call rather like an exasperated sound you might make with your tongue behind your teeth or a low chuckle.

It is absolutely impossible to get rid of the house geckoes, and actually they will eat most small insects that get inside, including mosquitoes, so they do a good job for you anyway. House geckoes lay eggs in any small hidden space they can find, and the tiny hatchlings emerge maybe about August or September here, when there are many insects around. It is physically impossible to catch all of them, and you can't trap them.

Adam.
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