I teach at a science camp in Oak Ridge, TN. This morning some of the campers found this strange group of larvae moving in a long cohesive mass, obviously to look like a larger organism such as a worm or snake. The individual larvae were about 1/2" long, but the mass could be up to 8" long and 1" wide. We looked at a few of them under a stereomicroscope and they did not appear to have legs like a caterpillar. The seemed to be a type of maggot. We noticed several more of the masses crawling across the road upon further inspection. Unfortunately, some of the masses had become casualties of the parents' cars when they dropped off their kids! :( The road where we saw them is near a pond which feeds from a lake. I have taught at this camp the same week for 16 years and I have never seen this phenomenon! If anyone can tell me what these are I would really appreciate it, I have 25 anxious kids waiting for an answer! Thanks!