![]() They are also called Gordian worms, because they will often twist into a loose ball-shaped knot resembling the baffling one Gordius created in the Greek myth and that is referred to as the Gordian knot. Horsehair worms belong to the phylum Nematomorpha, from the Greek word meaning thread-shaped, class Gordioida. Once in the mantid, the horsehair worm grows to an adult and emerges when the mantid seeks water. Inside the mayfly, the larva encysts but doesn?t begin to develop until a host such as a mantid that the horsehair worm can parasitize eats the mayfly. After the egg of the horsehair worm hatches, an aquatic insect, such as a mayfly nymph, eats the preparasitic larva. Horsehair worms may be found inside homes in toilets causing people to be concerned that it is a human parasite.An example of a horsehair worm life cycle. ![]() They are especially noticeable after a rainfall.Horsehair worms are often seen in puddles and other pools of fresh water, swimming pools, water tanks and on plants.When the horsehair worm is mature and near water or damp soil, it emerges from its host.When they infect their host, horsehair worms store up fats and food reserves. ![]() It is not clear how immature horsehair worms infect hosts.They can attack a wide variety of insects and related animals: grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, beetles, and katydids, as well as dragonflies, caddisflies, millipedes, centipedes, spiders, crustaceans, leeches, snails, slugs and other invertebrates.Once they hatch, immature horsehair worms try to infect a host. ![]() ![]()
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