Horsehair worm

Found in freshwater environments, damp soil, or emerging from host insects

Larvae are parasites of arthropods; adults do not feed (they lack functional mouths)

Larvae develop inside hosts like crickets or beetles, eventually manipulating the host to seek water so the worm can emerge to mate.

Harmless to humans, pets, and plants; they help control populations of insects like crickets and grasshoppers.