Horsehair Worm

Found in damp areas, puddles, pools, streams, and cisterns; they also reside inside the bodies of insect hosts during their larval stage.

Larvae are internal parasites that absorb nutrients from their insect hosts (such as crickets, grasshoppers, and beetles). Adults do not eat.

They exhibit a parasitic life cycle where larvae grow inside insects. Once mature, they manipulate the host's behavior to seek water; they then emerge from the host into the water to mate and lay eggs.

They are harmless to humans, pets, and plants. They are considered beneficial to the ecosystem as they help control populations of certain nuisance insects like crickets and cockroaches.