Doodlebug

What might this be?
Location: North East Pennsylvania
January 10, 2011 7:24 pm
Came home today and our cats where playing with it. It you would think where the pinchers are at was the head…. but it walks in the opposite direction.
Signature: ~M

Dear M,
This is a Doodlebug, the larva of an Antlion.  The reason it walks backwards is because the Doodlebug spends its larval life buried in sandy soil.  It waits at the bottom of a conical pit with only its mandibles exposed.  Any insect that falls into the pit is quickly devoured.  The big mystery for us is where your cats found this Doodlebug in the middle of the winter.  Do you perhaps have a dirt floor in the basement?