Horsehair Worm

Adults are free-living in freshwater environments like puddles, streams, troughs, and swimming pools. Larvae are parasitic inside insects like crickets and grasshoppers.

Adults do not feed; they rely on stored energy. Larvae absorb nutrients directly from their insect hosts.

Known for their 'zombie-like' manipulation of hosts, forcing them to seek water so the adult worm can emerge to reproduce. They are often found knotted together in masses (Gordian knots).

Harmless to humans, pets, and plants. They are beneficial for pest control as they kill harmful insects like crickets, cockroaches, and grasshoppers.