Horsehair worm

Found in puddles, swimming pools, livestock water troughs, and inside the bodies of insects

In the larval stage, they are parasites of arthropods (grasshoppers, crickets, beetles) and absorb nutrients from the host's body. Adults do not eat.

Larvae develop inside an insect host; once mature, they manipulate the host's behavior to seek water, where the adult worm emerges to mate and lay eggs.

They are harmless to humans, pets, and plants, but they provide a benefit to ecosystems by naturally controlling insect populations.