The Cartoon Crawl! How Inchworms Move This little “cartoon caterpillar” is most likely an inchworm, the larva of a geometer moth (family Geometridae). Inchworms move with a looping, “hump-and-stretch” motion because they lack middle prolegs, the extra limb-like stubs most caterpillars use for walking. To move, they grip with their front legs, pull the rear end forward to form an arch, then anchor the back and stretch out again, repeating in a rhythmic wave. The name “geometer” means “earth-measu

Did you know ... Inchworms have legs at both ends of their bodies and none in the middle and that they are not worms, but caterpillars ... ? This makes them look odd when they move, shifting first one end and then the other. One might think that they look a lot like a measuring tape, and that is how they got the nickname inchworm or measuring worms. Legend has it that if an inchworm crawls on you, he is measuring you for your coffin 😱 However, the truth is that he is probably just looking for s