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Leather-Jacket

Posted by January 4th, 2004 at 1:00 am

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Crane Fly

Dear Daniel, I was almost certain that this was a land planarian because of the triangular shaped head. I found it under a log and it moves like a slug. I contacted an expert on land planarians and he said this "thing" may be a larva of some sort, but definitely not a land planarian. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Lynette



Hi Lynette,
I agree with the expert, definitely not a planarian. They are flatworms. It might be some sort of a moth caterpillar. I wish you had a side view of it. How long was it? What about legs? Caterpillars usually have legs. Probably my best guess is a Crane Fly (Tipuloidea) larva, known sometimes as "Leather Jackets". They are often found on dry land in decaying vegetation. The larva of Tipula abdominalis looks like your photo.

Hi again. I guess it was about an inch long. I didn’t see any legs, but it was moving through that slimy stuff, so I guess they could have been there. I really thought I was seeing a worm or slug not a larva but you know I am not too good at this yet. Anyway thanks for pointing me in a general direction!

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