Horsehair Worm

Freshwater environments such as ponds, streams, puddles, and water troughs, often emerging from terrestrial host insects near water.

No adult feeding; larvae are parasites that absorb nutrients from the body cavity of host insects like crickets, grasshoppers, and beetles.

They are parasitic as larvae. Once they reach maturity, they influence the host's behavior to seek out water, where the worm will then emerge to mate and lay eggs.

Completely harmless to humans, pets, and plants. They provide an ecological benefit by naturally controlling populations of crickets, cockroaches, and grasshoppers.