Horsehair Worm

Found in freshwater environments like ponds, streams, and puddles, as well as damp soil and occasionally inside houses reaching from their insect hosts.

As adults, they do not eat. As larvae, they are internal parasites of insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, and beetles, absorbing nutrients through their skin.

They have a complex life cycle where larvae grow inside a terrestrial insect host; they then manipulate the host's behavior to seek water, allowing the mature worm to emerge in an aquatic environment to mate and lay eggs.

They are harmless to humans, pets, and livestock. They are considered beneficial to ecosystems because they help control populations of insects like crickets and cockroaches.