What Kind of Bug Is This? Common Bug Groups

Is It a Maggot? How to Tell Maggots From Look-Alikes

Maggots: 4 marks to check, what they are often confused with, whether they bite or sting, and where they turn up, quoted from university entomology and IPM sources.

These pages help you narrow a bug down to its group from what you can see. They are not medical advice. Seek medical care promptly for severe symptoms or any sign of an allergic reaction.

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At a glance

Group: "Maggot" specifically refers to the larval stage of flies (order Diptera) and is not a distinct species; maggots of different fly species (house flies, blow flies, fruit flies, etc.) differ in detail.
Body plan: Maggots (fly larvae) are legless, with a grub-shaped body that tapers to a point at the head end and is blunt at the rear, usually cream-colored. For the cabbage maggot, for example, the source explicitly describes it as “legless.”
Size: For the cabbage maggot, larvae are about 0.4 inch (about 1 cm) long or less; exact length varies by fly species, and the source does not give a single length range for maggots overall.
Bites or stings: The source states adult house flies have sponging mouthparts and cannot bite, but adults can carry a number of pathogens picked up while feeding on animal feces, animal secretions, or kitchen waste, giving them the ability to spread disease. Whether the maggot (larva itself) bites or spreads disease is not addressed in the page consulted.
Where you find them: Commonly found in warm, moist organic material such as manure, garbage, grass clippings, decaying fruits and vegetables, or soil contaminated with these materials.

How to tell it is one of the maggots

Maggots have no legs — the most direct difference from beetle grubs (which have three pairs of true legs). A whitish larva with clearly visible legs can generally be ruled out as a maggot.
Maggots taper to a point at the head end and are blunt at the rear, without an obviously hardened head capsule — unlike grubs, which have a distinct dark, hardened head capsule and a C-shaped body.
Maggots are commonly found in warm, moist organic material such as manure, garbage, decaying fruits and vegetables, or soil contaminated with these materials, rather than feeding directly on plant roots in soil the way grubs do.
Maggots are the larval stage of flies, which undergo complete metamorphosis through egg, larva (maggot), pupa, and adult stages; the larval form looks nothing like the adult fly it becomes.

Often confused with

People most often mix maggots up with:

Open the other page and compare its list against the marks above; the differences are usually in the antennae, wings or the way the body is divided.

Bites and stings

The source states adult house flies have sponging mouthparts and cannot bite, but adults can carry a number of pathogens picked up while feeding on animal feces, animal secretions, or kitchen waste, giving them the ability to spread disease. Whether the maggot (larva itself) bites or spreads disease is not addressed in the page consulted. Seek medical care promptly for severe symptoms or any allergic reaction.

Where they turn up

Commonly found in warm, moist organic material such as manure, garbage, grass clippings, decaying fruits and vegetables, or soil contaminated with these materials.

How to photograph it for identification

Get as close as your camera will focus, from directly above, in daylight or a bright lamp. Include the whole body with the legs and antennae in frame; a second shot from the side shows wings and body segments. Put a coin or ruler next to it for scale. For a bite or a bug found on skin or bedding, photograph the bug itself, not the mark. The app names the likely group; use the list above to confirm.

FAQ

Do maggots bite or sting?

What is the quickest way to recognize maggots?

Maggots have no legs — the most direct difference from beetle grubs (which have three pairs of true legs). A whitish larva with clearly visible legs can generally be ruled out as a maggot.

How do I tell maggots from flies?

Maggots have no legs — the most direct difference from beetle grubs (which have three pairs of true legs). A whitish larva with clearly visible legs can generally be ruled out as a maggot. Maggots taper to a point at the head end and are blunt at the rear, without an obviously hardened head capsule — unlike grubs, which have a distinct dark, hardened head capsule and a C-shaped body. Maggots are commonly found in warm, moist organic material such as manure, garbage, decaying fruits and vegetables, or soil contaminated with these materials, rather than feeding directly on plant roots in soil the way grubs do. Maggots are the larval stage of flies, which undergo complete metamorphosis through egg, larva (maggot), pupa, and adult stages; the larval form looks nothing like the adult fly it becomes. The Flies page lists its own marks.

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