Any ideas as to what this might be?

[mosaiq]

Hi all. I'm new to this, but am wondering if anyone can help me identify something my daughter found today. It's similar to a caterpillar, but much shorter, and the same colour as a maggot, but has a 'rat-like' tail, almost the same length as the body! It also has tiny black eyes. Have tried to upload pictures on here, but it's telling me the images are too small, and if they can be made bigger I have no idea how to do it, sorry.

I've had a look on various insect websites but cant seem to find anything that matches it, unless of course I'm just not looking in the right places.

Thanks in advance for any replies

[aeshna5]

Sounds like the larva (maggot) of an eristaline hoverfly- often called drone flies as some species resemble Honey Bees. These larvae can live in stagnant water /sewage, etc + use these "tails" to breathe with.

[mosaiq]

Thank you so much! I just googled hoverfly larva and that's exactly what it is! Thanks again, as I had no idea what to search for without a name for it.