Download horse hair worms2/22/2024 ![]() ![]() The adult lays eggs in freshwater sources like lakes, streams, and sometimes even in a swimming pool or pet water trough. The worm larvae prey on an arthropod or insect host, living within their bodies and absorbing their fluids through the skin. They are found worldwide but mostly occur in places close to a water source. The name comes from the Gordian Knot – a type of knot from Greek mythology. This is why they are also called Gordian worms. While mating, opposite sexes twist themselves into a knot. One end is unpigmented and has the “mouth” of the worm.Īccording to scientists, there are as many as 2,000 species of horsehair worms, though we have only found around 350. They have thin, unsegmented bodies with a cylindrical cross-section that remains uniform. This story was published by The Sun and reproduced with permission.Horsehair worms are a type of aquatic, parasitic worms. They can turn their heads 180 degrees to scan surroundings and they have five eyes - two large with three smaller located in between. Their triangular heads rest upon on a long “neck,” or elongated thorax which gives them great accuracy. ![]() The fascinating bugs are formidable predators. They’re also sometimes known as “Gordian,” referring to the Gordian Knot as the hellish creatures often wind themselves into coils and tangles.īut praying mantis’s themselves are hardly bottom of the food chain either. The beasts are usually found in damp areas and grow between two to four inches long. They chow down on bugs’ brains - usually grasshoppers and crickets - which then causes the “host” to seek out water and drown itself, returning the slinky parasites to their watery lairs.īut with the bug now dead, the creepy crawlers were slithering elsewhere to find another poor soul to burrow into. One wrote: “I hated every single second of that.”Īnother added: “There was a very distinct point for me when it switched from ‘oh, that’s kinda neat’ to ‘WHY IS IT NOT ON FIRE?!?!’”Īnd one more simply wrote: “I say we ****ing nuke that”.Īnd the truth behind the mystery is perhaps even more horrifying.Īccording to one brainy user, the mantis had been infected with horsehair worms - common parasites that choose an invertebrate “host” and feed on its fat stores. ![]()
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