蠖

Looper caterpillar or inch-worm. This is a specialist term, typically used intentionally rather than as a generic reference to insects.

Distinguished from general terms for worms or insects (such as 蟲 or 蚓). The choice of 蠖 specifically emphasizes the physical shape of the creature or its characteristic "looping" gait.

Fanqie reading: 烏郭 (likely //guó//). Its identity as a looper caterpillar is stable across traditions.

Composed of the insect radical (虫) and a phonetic component.

Consider whether the author is invoking the specific locomotion of the looper—arching the body into a loop to move forward in rhythmic, halting increments. If the passage describes movement that is stuttering or advancing in fits and starts, the glyph may be functioning as a metaphor for this peculiar mode of progress.