here is another pic

and a third one

Gosh, it appears to be a grub of the dreaded Japanese Beetle. I suggest you dispatch it immediately. There are probably others where this came from...

It's a grub of a scarab beetle. Maybe Japanese beetle, maybe not. In part, depends upon where you live in zone 11.

The best way to determine which beetle it is is to examine the pattern of the hairs on its rear end.

See this:
http://www.caes.uga.edu/publications/pubDetail.cfm?pk_id=7822

Here is a link that might be useful: ID it

its a foe ...

in this stage it eats roots of various plants .. usually the lawn ...

in the adult phase it eats off leaves ...

what it eats is dependent on what it is ...

throw it.. them.. on the driveway.. the birds will make them disappear ...

ken

Thanks you guys!
now my concern is: what should i do with the potted soil from where it came from?

should i discard it all totally?
should i be wary of eggs in that soil?
should i continue using it without worry (there are no similar critters in there)?
should i worry about infestation in other areas?