onenicebugperday:

Horsehair worms, aka hairsnakes or Gordian worms, Order Gordioidea, Phylum Nematomorpha. Found throughout the world.

Although alien in appearance, these worms are parasitoids of arthropods in their larval stage and are not harmful to humans or other mammals. Adult worms are free-living, meaning they do not require a host, and they do not feed. Most are only a few inches long, but in extreme cases they can reach over two meters in length while remaining only 1 to 3 millimeters in diameter.

Photos 1-2 by Andreas Kay, 3 by mingchungchiu, 4-5 by kai_pirinha, 6 by diego4nature, and 7-8 by robirwin

A short but informative video below! Just the worm, no injured host insect.

(via doctorguilty)

  1. loverofwurms reblogged this from onenicebugperday
  2. myredraven reblogged this from symbiotic-science
  3. ewww777 reblogged this from onenicebugperday
  4. c4n1ne reblogged this from symbiotic-science
  5. maggiefromspace reblogged this from symbiotic-science
  6. antharaea-polyphemus reblogged this from onenicebugperday
  7. arborwin reblogged this from doeantler
  8. phlebotomies reblogged this from doctorguilty
  9. cadantine reblogged this from onenicebugperday
  10. shinycosmonaut reblogged this from symbiotic-science
  11. an-enigmatic-mind reblogged this from symbiotic-science
  12. dragonpropaganda reblogged this from symbiotic-science
  13. dga-fl reblogged this from symbiotic-science
  14. symbiotic-science reblogged this from onenicebugperday
  15. lilwatergoblin reblogged this from supppe
  16. arilus-cristatus reblogged this from onenicebugperday
  17. therewasneveranyonebeforethis reblogged this from onenicebugperday
  18. dewdingus reblogged this from onenicebugperday
  19. onenicebugperday posted this
Short URL for this post: https://tmblr.co/ZFlf2tb3r0FeGa00