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Not a caterpillar not quite a slug as I think slugs look like. It has a smooth, non-tapering, tubular body.
Weedy vegetation alongside a waterbody totally covered with water hyacinth.
If you see one : https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/55... You will see it again.
Spotted on Oct 12, 2022
Submitted on Oct 12, 2022
7 Comments
Oh, thank you so much. It is very kind if you. I'll be checking too. Thanks a LOT.
Hi Sukanya,
Sorry for taking so long to answer your last comment. I was out looking for bugs for PN and just came back into the house a short time ago. I have been thinking about your grub and it seems most likely to be, as we already suspect, the larva of a fairly big beetle. More than that would just be conjecture at the moment. I checked my own collection and discovered that I don't have any grubs, other than one or two small unidentified maggots. However, I have a good number of beetles and when I have a spare moment, I will try to sort out the most likely suspects and look on the internet for their grubs. Because I know almost nothing about them, that seems to be my best approach. So, no promises, but I will try and help if I can. Regards, John B.
Hi John,
Yes about 2 inches would be about it. Rhinoceros larvae have leglike projections...this one is slimmer and one end looks ' scorched.' No coconut palms in the near vicinity but in the locality, there are a few.
Rhinoceros beetle larva I have seen:
https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/15...
THANKS, so much for your inputs...and time.
I can't tell how big the grub is, from you picture, but if it is in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 inches long, it could be something like the larva of a Rhinoceros beetle. Are there any Coconut Palms near the place where you spotted it? John B.
Cranefly larvae or leatherjackets look similar...but not exactly so. I will be really grateful if someone can take the ID a little further.
I think you have pointed me in the right direction...I will change the common name to Grub!' This is wonderful.
Thank you so much...it is 11. 30 AM here, so a very Good Morning to you!! :)
Good afternoon Sukanya,
Your spotting is not a caterpillar or a slug. I think you are absolutely right in that. I am not entirely sure, but it looks very much like the larva of a beetle, commonly called a Grub. I regret I have no more than that to offer in the way of information, but you might know of some beetles in India which live in or around watery environments. Regards, John B.