The Prentiss "Worms" are Wasp Larvae

SavageDownSouth · 2025-03-14T22:53:05+00:00

Yah. It's a big part of it, and I was a lil surprised to find people weren't mentioning it on this sub.

Paristoid wasps famously parisitize and zombify other insects, changing their behavior to protect the larva that are eating them, much like Jane Prentiss.

There's even one that makes spider's spin cocoon for them, though I don't think they used that concept in the show.

AceGhostGirl · 2025-03-14T22:48:31+00:00

I always assumed they were some sort of larvae due to how Martin described them, but had no clue that Wasp Larvae looked like that! I had always assumed they were somw sort of non-real insect made by the corruption. The fear of something there is no knowledge of, that there is no cure for, festering under your skin- And I assumed that was what the nest in her attic was too, a species of insects that didn't exist because the exterminator describes the nest like no wasps nest he had ever seen before.

But them being wasp Larvae makes so much sense!! Just super wasps I guess lol. I love learning new things about the show!!

_bread_lover_ · 2025-03-14T23:02:07+00:00

Wait people actually imagined them like earthworms??? I think they were even described as thick, with a silver shine and a beady black head if i remember correctly. Off color wasp larvae was exactly what I pictured...

Ripper1337 · 2025-03-14T22:38:49+00:00

THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE. I never realized that. It fits with her first contact with the Corruption being a wasp nest.

LonelyMoth46 · 2025-03-14T22:56:05+00:00

That makes so much sense. I was so confused how we went from wasps to worms but for some reason my mind never went to wasp larvae LMAO

leronde · 2025-03-15T00:25:24+00:00

yeah i always got parasitoid wasp vibes from the hive, though honestly i thought they were some kind of spooky magic made-up corruption bug since they were described as small silver worms and no adults were ever described

allenfiarain · 2025-03-15T01:43:24+00:00

There is a creepypasta story about a man who discovers that wasps have burrowed into his flesh and are building a hive in his body. Immensely upsetting story, and the ending is absolutely brutal. I think of him when I think of Jane Prentiss.

AllISeeAreGems · 2025-03-14T23:07:34+00:00

So… theoretically would they eventually have gestated into corruption wasps?

AbstractStew5000 · 2025-03-15T01:11:26+00:00

I never realized this. It does make perfect sense, especially with the."wasp nest in the attic" that she knows about, despite having never seen it.

Vulpes-ferrilata · 2025-03-15T01:50:32+00:00

I assumed they were maggots but wasp larva makes 200x more sense! Especially since parasitic wasps are a thing

SigmaBunny · 2025-03-15T07:54:16+00:00

I once asked Jonny on twitter if the worms were based on botfly larvae, because that was what came to mind for me. He said they were based on a number of insect larvae that burrow, including those, but what exactly they were is up to interpretation.

So yeah, wasps, botflies, maggots… in my head they also are a bit like fruit fly maggots because I had my own Corruption event with those…

OctagonalOctopus · 2025-03-15T08:09:11+00:00

I mean there are also a lot of disgusting parasitic worms, so I don't think it's far off to imagine them as such:

Horsehair worms eat the host alive and act as it's brain, forcing it to drown itself so they reproduce in the water.

The Guinea worm causes excruciating pain while it burrows out of your skin, and if you don't have medication, it's treated by tying it around a stick and slowly pulling it out.

Ascaris worms wanders from the intestines through the bloodstream into the lungs, and from there to the larynx. It's then eithe coughed out or swallowed again. This friend is living in about 700-900 million people.

Hookworms (which were pretty common in the US) burrow into the skin between the toes if you go barefoot. Infections are often so severe that the patients become anemic from blood loss.

Heartworm occurs in animals, but as the name says, it resides in the heart and can become so long that it causes cardiovascular blockage. It rarely infects humans, same as horsehair worms.

And while tapeworms are usually easy to treat by now, if you've ever seen a severe tapeworm infection or removal of tapeworms, yeah, these guys are pretty disgusting as well.

renirae · 2025-03-15T02:20:48+00:00

OH MY GOD THAT MADE SO MUCH SENSE. I was picturing them as pretty larvae-like since it fits their description, but I never really saw the connection between them and the wasp nest that started it all... omg...

subara_chaos · 2025-03-15T00:18:12+00:00

That actually makes sense given how wasp nests are made

Banaanisade · 2025-03-15T02:52:47+00:00

Ohhhh thank you! I always struggled to imagine what they looked like and it bothered me that they didn't seem to be any real thing that exists.

This fixed me.

HomosexualFiend · 2025-03-15T03:41:58+00:00

I KNEW IT. I always feel like them being called worms is an injustice to something far more disgusting and creepy

aydengryphon · 2025-03-15T08:41:36+00:00

I fear I have written a post in haste and without bothering to add much nuance (that "are wasp larvae" vs. anything more along the lines of "may be based on" will honestly kill me, goodbye), expecting very few people to see it, and now will be duly suffering the consequences of not putting 45 disclaimers that HOWEVER YOU PERSONALLY ENVISION THE FAKE WORMS IS VALID and I think none of the fear entities create singular 1:1 manifestations of Normal Real-World Stuff; even then, any one interpretation is not the "correct" or only one, I just think wasps are really cool and think a lot of people aren't aware they have "worm"-y flesh-eating larvae that fit the bill for the rest of Jane Prentiss's whole wasp-themed vibe 😂

beemielle · 2025-03-15T00:15:39+00:00

I started interacting with the fandom WAY before actually listening to the podcast itself, and by that point they’d been a bit solidified as the image of worms in my brain. But specifically with Jane Prentiss, I do associate her with wasps because I just love the bee/wasp/hive associations

Relevant-Weekend3994 · 2025-03-15T05:53:24+00:00

Thank you! This is py pet peeve, especially the fact Jon never calls them anything other than worms youre a god damn eye avatar man!

It bothered me so much i think i have an entire chapter of a fix it fic where he gets drunk and is like nonono its not worms

VampyPixel · 2025-03-15T17:53:08+00:00

OH MY GOD IM SO DUMB THANK YOU!!! I knew they weren’t like earth worms but I thought they were like maggots and I was always a little confused about how they tied into the wasp nest!! This makes so much sense!!!

TheLusbywolf · 2025-03-15T19:22:22+00:00

Thank you! I was so confused by the wasp vs worm situation 🪱!

Jalexsis · 2025-03-17T05:12:36+00:00

Omg thank you!! I always wondered about that because I thought it was an odd shift to go from wasps to worms, I never thought to look it up though so it makes total sense that they’d be wasp larvae !!

allgreek2me2004 · 2025-03-15T16:27:55+00:00

I mean, yeah, she got infested by jamming her arm shoulder-deep into a weird, paranormal paper-wasp nest. Clearly not the average wasp larvae, given the agility, corkscrew shape, and silver color, but definitely some sort of parasitoid wasp larvae!

AbaddonArts · 2025-03-15T17:58:40+00:00

I wonder, had she succeeded at taking down the Archives, would all her larvae have grown into full wasps now that she weakened a temple of a hated entity? Basically a reward/boost from the Corruption to take on other foes with better bugs?

justintonationslut · 2025-03-18T15:10:20+00:00

I always imagined them as large silverfish

2025-07-02T11:22:21+00:00

Are these poisonous in your opinion

eightdirt · 2025-03-14T23:31:38+00:00

Thank you, I've always complained about fanart having them as actual worms

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