You know, I have never seen anything like that! Thanks soo much for that little video clip.

Out of curiosity, I googled the phrase 'jumping maggots'
( I knew that they were a maggot of some kind) and, believe it or not, it turns out that several species of Dipterans (flies) have maggots (larvae) that 'jump'.

I have NO idea what kind you might have, however, so I can't help you there.

that is a great video...no idea what it is..but good pics

Update: These things are only in the cocoa bean shell mulch, not in the bare ground just 2 feet from this bed, nor the bed the has wood chip mulch 6 feet away. Also, they come out about 5 minutes after the water hits the mulch. Also, the pointed end is the front I think.

Check my blog for a new video and a couple of new pictures.
http://gardener-matt.blogspot.com/

It looks to me like they are some sort of jumping maggot (fly). I'll do some more looking. thank for the help...

Here is a link that might be useful: More Jumping Worms...

Matt -- That is just bizarre. They clearly are maggots (fly larvae) and you are right about the narrow end being the head. Most fly larvae are not plant pests, although a few can be quite damaging. Unless someone recognizes it, you will probably need an adult to ID it. If you collect a few and keep them in a container with moist (not wet) soil and vegetation (maybe some cocoa hulls), you should be able to rear out some adults. Then you can take them to your nearby extension office for ID.

I posted my question at BugGuide.net and here is the response.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/123365

'Best not to disclose the location of the body:-) Seriously, the larvae of "cheese skippers" (flies in the family Piophilidae) feed on decomposing fats, so frequently are seen on carcasses in advanced stages of decomp.'

I looked up some things on wikipedia. While they don't sound like the most pleasant creatures they also don't seem to pose any threat so I'll leave them alone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_fly

thanks to rhizo 1. Your reply sent me in the right direction.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jumping Worms blog post

Thank YOU! Your video clips of the 'amazing flying maggots' make me laugh whenever I look at them!

Is there a way to kill these maggots? If they didn't jump, I wouldn't have bothered because worms that don't feed on live plants are usually beneficial to plants. But since I have many indoor plants in my apartment that seem to have these maggots in the soil, I worry that they will jump out of their pots and land in furniture and other places and maybe get carried by foot into sanitary places like the kitchen.

sosreptile, your situation is more likely quite different. Fungus gnat larvae are relatively common in house plants. Don't worry, however: they don't jump around all over the place.

Perhaps you misunderstood my previous post. The worms I have DO jump around. And there are hundreds of them. Every time I water top-down, hundreds start jumping around about 3-5 inches high to keep themselves from drowning. The worms are about 5 mm in length (max) and white. They look exatly like the ones in mattmelcher's videos.

In fact, if I pour enough water such that a 1-2 cm layer of water sits on top of the soil, the water surface is almost covered in these worms. When the water surface meets the soil surface as it's draining, they start jumping around.

I just watered my cocoa mulched garden and was shocked by the jumping worms! I know this is an old post, but am hoping someone can calm my nerves.... Do i need to do something to them? Will they eat my raspberries? There are 100s maybe 1000s of them!

I have the same bugs, also in cocoa bean mulch. TrueGreen took a sample of them back to the shop. So I may have an answer for you soon.

Just googled the same issue in my cocoa hull mulch. Looking forward to hearing what TrueGreen, (who we also use), says, Peggy.

I noticed it just after watering, and although it's pretty amusing to see, it's also a bit disturbing because there are so many of them. I have a couple of happy robins out there, though:)

are they harmful to bushes?

The tiny, white, jumping worms are Folsomia Candida (actually anthropods, not worms) or Springtail. Lots of photos and information available through Google. They feed on decomposing material in soils.

sosreptile, you can layer the top of your soil with sand to inhibit the flies from laying any more eggs in your soil. I would use a drench of a mixture of water and safers soap to kill those little worms. Good Luck!

I don't think those are springtails. They're most likely the larvae of a fly in the piophilidae family, carrion flies, best known of which is the cheese fly or cheese skipper. Make sure you wash your hands after handling the soil around them. Cheese skippers primarily feed on bacon, cheese, rancid meat, so I don't know if this is actually the cheese skipper or a close relative that likes coffee (and, apparently, cocoa hulls), but most of their family and can cause serious trouble (myiasis) in the intestines. Search Wikipedia for cheese fly.

I found out about them because they're all through the coffee grounds I'm drying in the sun to make an organic fertilizer. The original video (fortunately still up on Matt's Garden, though the site seems to have been abandoned) is exactly what I'm seeing in my coffee, and would like to get rid of.

This post was edited by duginkc on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 18:15

Found this post trying to ID the tiny jumping larvae in my cocoa mulch this morning when watering. Hope we get an answer soon. I'll make some calls.

doc.. this is a 2 year old post.. if the answer isnt there.. it most likely wont come ...

start your own post..and try to get some pix ...

and.. while your at it .... in your new psot.. tell us what if any damage you are seeing in regard to such ...

we cant.. and dont.. kill all creatures in the garden ... it is imperative that we ID them.. to determine if they are beneficial ... and if not.. THEN.. we bring down the wrath of God... lol ...

ken

I have the exact same jumping larvae in my cocoa mulch on a rooftop in Brooklyn. The robins and sparrows have been feasting on them but I think some have some to maturity as houseflies.

i'm not positive but for 3 days straight I've seen young looking house flies walking and flittering about on the cocoa as if they just hatched/molted and weren't quite ready to fly.

picture attached - sorta hard to see but fly is on rim of container in the front of mulch

hope this solves the mystery

I have the same thing in my potting soil at the moment. They are teeny tiny off white worm like bugs. They curl themselves into a ball and then pop open and jump. Very creepy and now I dont want to take any plants inside. I’m going to try a garlic mixture to kill and keep away pests. But does anyone else have any suggestions to rid my plants of these lil suckers????

I am looking for followup information from any of you re: your experience with the cocoa mulch. I am looking for timelines, photographs and detailed observations. Thank you. Please email me directly at cecily8@me.com Thank you.

Cecily, it smells like heaven for a month or two and would have longer if I’d been comfortable topping it off at that point. It developed mold when it was soaked but didn’t smell like mold. The mold was gone in two weeks. It is terribly slick in spots where it stays wet so plan for that. I’ve made flat rock paths where we frequently walk and purchased mats for the bottom of the deck and the patio door so we don’t track it on the deck. If the kids would wipe their feet diligently we wouldn’t need a second mat, but, you know how kids can be.

I just noticed the jumping worms today. I wondered why the robins were getting so friendly. They knew we‘d ‘planted’ food for them. They jump so high that I though they were baby grasshoppers and my son thought they were baby frogs. And even the. We were impressed. Imagine my joy to see mini maggots instead. 😳😟🤢

I’m nearly certain that mine are NOT cheese skippers, but larva from picture wing flies, because I saw the stinkin flies lay their eggs around my little fish and snail pond. I dont know that there was anything I could do at that point other than getting rid of the mulch. I was afraid any treatment I could use might hurt my pets.

And the mulch really is pretty, even after it’s been soaked. and smells good. And isnt slippery as long as it’s not in a little valley four feet below your pond. And the mold I had didnt smell, still allowed enough space to work, and did go away in two weeks. The stuff is fabulous for the soil, too.

I do t know if anyone is still listening, but, again, check into ‘picture window fly larvae’ if you’ve never actually see. The cheese skipper flies near your mulch.