Horsehair Worm

Freshwater environments such as ponds, streams, troughs, and occasionally damp soil or pools after rain.

Larvae are internal parasites of arthropods (crickets, grasshoppers, beetles); adults do not eat as they lack functional digestive systems.

The larvae develop inside a host's body; once mature, they manipulate the host to seek water. The adult emerges in water to mate and lay eggs, often appearing in tangled knots.

Harmless to humans, livestock, and plants. They are beneficial to ecosystems by naturally controlling populations of certain insects like crickets and grasshoppers.