Horsehair worm
Scientific Name: Gordiacea (class)
Order & Family: Order: Gordioidea; various families (e.g., Gordiidae)
Size: Typically 10 to 70 centimeters long, but only 1 to 3 millimeters thick.
Natural Habitat
Found in freshwater environments such as ponds, streams, and puddles; larvae are parasitic within insects.
Diet & Feeding
Larvae are internal parasites that absorb nutrients from the body fluids of hosts like crickets or beetles; adults do not eat.
Behavior Patterns
As larvae, they manipulate the host's behavior to seek water; as adults, they emerge into water to mate, often twisting into knots (earning the name 'Gordian worm').
Risks & Benefits
Harmless to humans, pets, and livestock. They serve an ecological benefit by controlling populations of insects like crickets and grasshoppers.
Identified on: 3/12/2026