After the heavy rains last night, my walkway is covered in these dead, pinkish-orange creatures. They look like tiny cooked shrimp or curled-up worms. I’m nowhere near the ocean. What is this thing?

The resemblance between lawn shrimp and cooked shrimp is striking, primarily due to their similar coloring and curled-up posture upon death. This similarity is purely coincidental, as lawn shrimp are terrestrial and have no connection to marine environments.

The pinkish-orange hue of dead lawn shrimp is a result of the carotenoid pigments present in their exoskeleton. When they die and dry out, these pigments become more pronounced, similar to how lobster and shrimp shells change color when cooked. Despite their misleading appearance, lawn shrimp are a completely different species adapted to life on land.

3. The Science Name: What Species Lawn Shrimp Actually Are