What is this worm inside a flat shell?

August 9, 2009 11:47 PM

Google isn't helping me find out what this bug is, mostly because I don't know what on earth to search for! Found in LA, it's a half inch flat greenish grey thing that seems to be a casing or pod, with a tiny red and black worm poking out the end and pulling it along...

This bug just showed up on the inside of some white curtains in Los Angeles. It was hanging by the worm part and pulling itself up. The worm section can retreat all the way inside the shell. The shell is very flat, slightly iridescent, and has a tiny hole at both ends.

Here's a video of it doing its thing across a paper towel. The color is off, it's a greenish grey with a black worm with a red head.

Can anyone help me ID? I have it in a jar now, so I can answer questions. What is it, and what is it going to turn into? Is it some kind of larval or pupal stage...

posted by crabintheocean to science & nature (7 comments total)

Wow. What a cool looking bug. I'm interested in finding out what it is too.

Have you looked through What's That Bug?
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 12:04 AM on August 10

Looks like a type of bagworm.
posted by idiotfactory at 12:31 AM on August 10

You know, I thought I had looked through What's that Bug, but I had no clue where to start with this thing, so I guess I wasn't very effective.

Looking again and doing some digging on Google, I think I have it! It is a type of bagworm, almost certainly a "household casebearer" or "plaster bagworm".

Now I'm worried about whether its relatives are going to destroy my clothes! I can't find a clear answer.
posted by crabintheocean at 12:36 AM on August 10

See here. What a weird thing!
posted by crabintheocean at 12:43 AM on August 10

Crazy! I was just showing one of these in my bathroom to my husband this morning and wondering what it is. I love AskMe. Answers to questions you haven't even asked yet.
posted by thebrokedown at 9:13 AM on August 10

crabintheocean, you've just solved one of my mysteries, too! We've had these critters in our bedroom off and on for a couple of years. I just thought they had escaped from an alien pod ...
posted by vickyverky at 10:53 AM on August 10

We used to get these in the bathroom at my dad's house all the time.
Although, they didn't usually move around so much as the one in your vide.
posted by those are my balloons at 11:15 AM on August 10