Found this caterpillar in the dirt the other day outside my house…
Here it is (in the palm of my leather work gloves – the width of a finger may be seen blurrily in the background):
I spent some time looking for matches on Bug Guide and in Garden Insects of North America by Whitney Cranshaw. The book wasn’t as helpful as the website this time. Looks a lot like this one (though the lighting conditions of the photos are different) and this one and this one. There are others that also look similar, like this one and this one and this one and this one. Maybe the genus Lithophane? I’ve spent almost 40 minutes trying to ID this caterpillar from these photos, and I think I’ll have to leave it at that.
There’s the possibility that it’s not a caterpillar, but some other larva like a beetle grub. The folks at bugguide.net are a friendly and helpful bunch and could probably point you in the right direction if you are still curious about the id. I’ve posted several images there of “caterpillars” that turned out to be beetle or sawfly larvae.
Is this worm poisonous or harmful to animals
I have no idea, since I couldn’t identify it.
I just found one of these in my hot southern attic on the wood floor. Was trying to ID as well. Green as a base color but also shades of pink on it’s back almost seem to be a little iridescent.