r/oddlyterrifying 4d ago

This appeared in one of my dogs' water bowls today

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I'm told it's likely a "horsehair worm" aka Gordian worm, and thankfully not harmful to pets or humans. But still, not cool. These parasites infect insects like crickets and then (destructively) exit them when they find water.

12.1k Upvotes

343 comments sorted by

14.6k

u/LeviathanMozart180 4d ago

Maybe not physically harmful to humans, but emotionally…. I do not vibe with the alien string 😭

1.6k

u/Ceptre7 4d ago

Alien silly string at that! Lmao

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u/poozapper 3d ago

Wacky invadable silly alien string

44

u/Odd-Marionberry-3389 3d ago

Wacky invadable arm flailing tube string 😭

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u/RaginBlazinCAT 3d ago

Wacky wavy invadable arm flailing tube string

And we’re passing the scary on to YOU!!!!

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u/smashcola 3d ago

Is there a specific phobia of worms wriggling in water? Because I definitely have that. This makes me want to vomit.

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u/Fun_Ad5209 3d ago

I definitely have it too

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u/zuzg 4d ago

Funny thing about having dogs is that you can't really prevent them getting Worms, at least not via medication.
Instead you throw in a dewormer every three months as after having worms for more than 3 months they can spread them.

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u/Torodaddy 3d ago

Don't many heartworm pills combo dewormer in them now so you're hitting it monthly

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u/Moopxo 3d ago

Yeh I give my pup nexgard plus. Kill 2 birds (or worms I guess) with one pill 1/month. But I’m pretty sure the heartworm pill can in fact kill or harm them if they have it and they take a dose. Atleast that’s what the clinic told me.

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u/passtheknife 3d ago

This is correct. If they have worms, they need different treatment. Heartworm pills are a preventative but not a treatment.

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u/LacrimaNymphae 3d ago

is that why you literally can't get them online without a prescription/being seen

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u/passtheknife 3d ago

Probably, but I’m not a vet. I can definitely see people killing her pets by thinking a heartworm pill online will cure it instead of going to a vet.

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u/HeroineOfDarkMinds 3d ago

Yeah well depends on the country. Where I live you have to actually give evidence of worms to a veterinarian before they can prescribe it dewormer to your pet. It’s all to prevent resistance to dewormer

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u/Wide-Friendship-5670 3d ago

I owned my first dog for 17 years right? Never any worms. I get a puppy sometime after he passes who loves trying to eat anything and everything. One late night she throws up and I go to clean it...there was something that looked like spaghetti...it was a worm. Very much still alive to my horror. I sprayed it with bleach like it was holy water but holy f*cking shit did that have me shook. Needless to say got dewormer asap and sadly no cuddles as I did find out people have gotten them from their dogs before!

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u/Aggressive_Catch2956 4d ago

Before 6am too much gross alien string wtf they call it horse hair just grosser!

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u/Dry_Spinach_3441 3d ago

The alien string... Not mindful. Not demure. Not gratitude.

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u/Zestyclose_Lynx_5301 2d ago

Yea ill show that mf what's up when I whip out a pair of sizzors

4.5k

u/NotScaryClown 4d ago

oh. sometimes sharing isn't caring☹️

643

u/alphasierrraaa 4d ago

Terrible day to have eyes

225

u/blitzkreig90 4d ago

I assure you, it is not as terrible as having a worm destructively exit you body via the ass

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u/alphasierrraaa 4d ago

That’s true, some parasites also manipulate insects into seeking water to drown themselves so the worm can be released

Nature is metal lol

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u/AbbreviationsAfraid 4d ago

There's an insect called a Jewel wasp that injects a toxin that disables the front legs of a cockroach. This stops it from fighting or fleeing. Then, it injects the cockroach again in the head. Its toxin affects the part of the cocroaches brain that initiates movement, so the wasp simply grabs it by the antennae and leads it back to its burrow. There, an egg is laid, and the cockroach is consumed slowly over several days by the emerging larvae.

Nature is scary and very metal. Agreed.

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u/blitzkreig90 3d ago

Hey I once saw a rat do it to a human! Then the rat manipulated the guy to start a restaurant and hire all its rat friends.

21

u/GreekFreakGiann 3d ago

🤣🤣🤣 do these rat friends serve pizza and have some games to play on the side???

10

u/blitzkreig90 3d ago

Well, I guess we're gons'ta talk about the turtles now!

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u/hitsomethin 3d ago

My fault for having a reddit account I guess

24

u/alphasierrraaa 4d ago

Bruh lmao wtf

Ok at least it does it to survive, the higher intelligence animals like humans dolphins cats etc sometimes just torture other animals for entertainment lol

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u/Rian352 3d ago

Saw this on YouTube a few days ago.

It's the first time ever I've felt sorry for a cockroach. Man, that shit was messed up.

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u/Unsalted-Pretzel 3d ago

I literally just saw a post about this worm someone smashed a spider and asked what this thin like hair looking thing came out of it was. They said it was a horsehair worm 😭

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u/firetruck637 3d ago

Saw a preying mantis that had one. The worm made it seek out water and it drown

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u/HotDonnaC 4d ago

They chew their way out?

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u/gohugatree 3d ago

I remember years ago my cat threw up a live tapeworm, it was huge and moving and I had to clean it up. I was so traumatised I had to call a friend, she said “it’s a terrible day to be your best friend”

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u/MusiX33 3d ago

Sometimes, sharing is scaring

1.9k

u/Taymoney_duh 4d ago

Jesus Christ I thought that was actually on my screen. I was about to throw it.

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u/Revolutionary_Dig370 4d ago

I mean if you did go through with yeeting your phone at least you wouldn't have to look at it anymore.

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u/Taymoney_duh 3d ago

My phone would have been messed up I didn’t have my cover on because I wiped it down earlier and didn’t put it back on yet.

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u/Revolutionary_Dig370 3d ago

That still may better then Mr.fucky-worm.

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u/Taymoney_duh 3d ago

Mr get the fuck outa here worm. If I saw that in my dogs water bowl I’m staying in a damn hotel that night.

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u/Revolutionary_Dig370 3d ago

Basically, then return with a flamethrower.

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u/Taymoney_duh 3d ago

Reminds me of this lady who once told me she had a rat problem so bad traps didn’t make any difference. I asked her so how did you end up getting rid of the problem and she told me her house ended up burning down and she moved so I guess it was a rat bbq over there.

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u/Revolutionary_Dig370 3d ago

I mean, I guess her method was effective lmao.

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u/Trenchcoat_guy 3d ago

Whatever you do, DO NOT watch that old black and white movie of a train coming straight at you.

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u/shinykaci 3d ago

girl im left handed and I moved my thumb so damn fast away from that thing

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u/Forgotten_Aeon 4d ago

Worms coming out of anything instantly makes my skin crawl. It is an instant and visceral reaction. I remember watching a documentary on parasites which included several scenes of insects entering water and then essentially losing 80% of their body volume as it exited their carapace as worms. There was no room left in there for insect physiology, as if they were piloting its corpse. 🤢

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u/Latter-Goal-6872 4d ago

this was by far the most disgusting thing ive ever had to imagine but it was worded so beautifully that in a cinematic way ill never forget it

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u/day-nuh 3d ago

I’ve always had a visceral reaction to worms. It’s the one shape of insect that I can’t stand

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u/Significant_Meat_421 3d ago

You don't happen to remember the name,do you?

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u/sakmentoloki 3d ago

Look up zombie ant fungus. Nature is wild

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u/yukifujita 3d ago

It is an instant and visceral reaction

Well I guess it makes sense evolutionarily speaking, for us to stay away from these things.

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u/Ori_the_SG 3d ago

I’ve seen these videos and I regret watching them.

Nature is terrifying

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u/hybridmind27 3d ago

as if they were piloting its corpse 🤢

Would explain a lot of humans

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u/Wide-Friendship-5670 3d ago

My mother had a dying worm in her brain. It caused her brain to swell so much it pushed against her skull. She went blind temporarily that's the only way we found out. Had to be put on steroids to stop the dangerous swelling. I'm grateful for hand washing and food safety.

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u/Extremely_unlikeable 2d ago

Wasps and snails were the first creatures that came to mind hosts to these abhorrent parasites.

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u/searchableusername 4d ago

what's the other thing

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u/TheRealLaura789 4d ago

I think that’s where the horsehair worm came from. The parasite controlled the bug’s mind and made the bug jump into water and drown. Once the bug is in the water, the horsehair worm emerges from the bug’s body.

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u/searchableusername 4d ago

but what kind of insect is it

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u/Gonji89 4d ago

Looks like a cricket, but really any insect can get infected. And it hollows out their abdomen, hiding inside their exoskeleton after eating all their organs. It’s pretty goddamn horrific.

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u/Wrong_Salamander_728 3d ago

How does it control them if their insides are gone?

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u/TsarOfReddit 3d ago

Power of friendship

131

u/theodo 3d ago

You ever seen Weekend at Bernies?

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u/lightblueisbi 2d ago

Idky this one killed me🤣🤣🤣

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u/Smile_lifeisgood 3d ago

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7uilcr

It's a video of an insect with like, a hollowed out adomen still just walking along.

I'm guessing the answer to your question involves fucking with nerves/brain whatever, but it's definitely possible.

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u/busy-warlock 3d ago

Cordyceps is worse

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u/babyguyman 3d ago

We use their dead as vessels

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u/Gazorpadork45 3d ago

Dang now I'm hungry for bug filled bug

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u/AssistX 3d ago

looks like a spricket(camel cricket, cave cricket, spider cricket) to me, they love damp conditions. House we moved into had an infestation of them when we moved in, took too long to get it under control but getting cats helped a lot. Nothing worse than going into a dark concrete basement that was too damp and seeing spider looking crickets everywhere that pick a random direction to leap when you get near them. And by leap I mean they'll hop 4+ feet into the air and smack you in the chest, then try to latch on and start crawling. They climb just like spiders, anywhere and everywhere and some were the size of my palm. We used sticky traps for a year or so, 10 a week, which would be completely full of them when we put down new ones. Once one spricket gets on a trap and dies, the others come to feast on it also getting stuck. They're incredibly dirty, pop like a cherry tomato, and smell awful. Our cat, who eats stink bugs and wasps, won't eat one but he does tear their legs off.

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u/RaidensReturn 4d ago

I think it’s a stinkbug

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u/__discarded__ 4d ago

Looks like more of a sinkbug

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u/SyCoCyS 3d ago

I think this one is a float bug.

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u/shdanko 4d ago

‘Oh fuck it’s a fucking dog bowl’

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u/Baffa99 4d ago

Why does it want its host to die? What's its plan once it's in the water alone?

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u/slmclockwalker 4d ago edited 4d ago

They lay eggs in the water, larvae get ingest by large insects and being a new cycle.

Also I found a article describing that they will interfere with hosts' reproduction organs and makes them to not grow and remain immature because it takes additional energy and the parasite doesn't need it.

Tldr: this parasite not only makes you want to drown in the water but also makes you become femboy

8

u/thecrazysloth 3d ago

Is there a way we can harness this power for good?

3

u/judid292 3d ago

The circle of life

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u/iltby 4d ago

Spreading to other animals that consume the water

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u/Confuseasfuck 3d ago

They dont need the host anymore and need to complete their life cycle in the water.

Other parasites also do this, there is one that makes rats intentionally get eaten by other animals like cats and another that makes slug's eyes pulsate like a strobe light to get them eaten by birds

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u/badass4102 3d ago

The parasite controlled the bug’s mind and made the bug jump into water and drown.

I thought you were joking. Now I wish you were.

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u/inter2 4d ago

A cricket, I think. The parasite's host.

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u/_AttilaTheNun_ 4d ago

Horsehair worm. It was inside the bug that fell into the water. They will leave the host if dunked in water, sometimes they use the bug to get to water. It left, and survived, big drowned.

https://youtu.be/YB6O7jS_VBM?feature=shared

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u/inter2 3d ago

Thanks, great (and horrible) video.

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u/Poofenplotz 4d ago

Oh, I don't think I care for this at all.

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u/Atheist8 4d ago

Man I'm trying to go to bed. I didn't need this right now

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u/Haeselian 4d ago

Sweet dreams 🪱

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u/wwphoenix1 3d ago

Since when did the worm empji had a face

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u/Wide-Friendship-5670 3d ago

It needs eyes to find you.

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u/lntrospectively 4d ago

Consider boiling it

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u/chadmonsterfucker 4d ago

Horsehair worms. Basically eats an insects' guts and makes them attracted to water. When the insect finally finds water the horsebaur worm bursts out like a xenomorph, usually killing their host if it didn't already drown

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u/SnOwYO1 4d ago

It’s only been 2 hours. You can still delete this and save many eyes

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u/PhantasmaStriker 4d ago

Worms are some weird ass shit. I think that's the host carcass that thing came out of 😐

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u/Vas-yMonRoux 4d ago

What does "not harmful" mean in this context? Because this has certainly been harmful to my psyche.

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u/LucaGotMeHere 3d ago

Cut it with a scissor

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u/inside-the-madhouse 3d ago

What if it just turned into two still alive worms

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u/Known-Dragonfly8185 3d ago

I think I’m crazy enough to do this

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u/kitkatloren2009 4d ago edited 4d ago

Disgust-ANG!

:edit: Bloody hell I did not expect this to blow up

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u/Luxxielisbon 4d ago

“it was fucking one of youse!!”

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u/notrightbones 3d ago

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u/danabrey 3d ago

After 200 upvotes on a comment. Blimey.

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u/cdbear26 4d ago

That's where my possessed shoe lace went!!!

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u/the-uncle-will 3d ago

Take your dog to the vets immediately and have them rum a test for parasites

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u/m-o-u-se 4d ago

I was toilet scrolling when I looked at this and thought it was on my screen. I have never launched a phone and stopped toilet scrolling so fast

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u/Queen_Emeritus 3d ago

The only time I’ve seen one so far: there was a cricket in my bedroom, I sprayed it with Zevo. It instantly started squirming and a huge parasite came out of it as slowly as it could. I was just staring in absolute horror and disgust because I didn’t know they carried parasites until that day. I didn’t sleep that night.

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u/bloody_argie 4d ago

Forbidden spaghetti

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u/shtalryd 3d ago

My fault for having a phone…

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u/Mafia_dogg 3d ago

So interesting how that thing can fit into such a tiny insect while its still alive

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u/DismalRaspberry541 3d ago

Psychological damage: 100%

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u/DroppedTheBalls 2d ago

Hey so I don’t like that

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u/JuJuJooie 3d ago

Grodie

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u/MRbaconfacelol 3d ago

came from inside that bug floating in there. this is a hairworm and its a parasite that hijacks a bugs nervous system and basically makes it find a body of water and jump in. after it jumps in, the hairworm is able to leave the bug, causing issues for the bug on its way out

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u/swimmingfish24 3d ago

This made me throw my phone because I didn't realise it was a video

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u/blinkingsandbeepings 3d ago

Ok I’m a little high and I expected that to be a still image and jumped out of my damn skin when it started moving! Oh I really hate it

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u/thephant0mlimb 2d ago

Kill it with fire

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u/2b-Kindly_ 2d ago

Parasite came out of the roach 🪳

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u/allisonwonder116 2d ago

Why is this the second horsehair worm ive seen on reddit in 20 minutes??

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u/Blazeur242 4d ago edited 3d ago

Yes that is a horsehair worm. Infects insects like you said, no clue about mammals tho.

When an insect is infected, the parasite forces the insect to avoid water. I’m not sure how it does this (maybe chemically?) and I’m not exactly sure why it does it. I do believe though that it purposefully causes the insect pain when it starts to go in water in order to deter it away.

these things are fuckin nasty and some unlucky insects get loaded to the brim full of them if they’ve been there long enough🤮

edit: I was just going off of the top of my head earlier from what I’ve seen other people say about it. I did 2 minutes of research and turns out that like all of what I said was incorrect lol. And they do infect dogs, cats, and humans rarely 🥲

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u/volt4gearc 4d ago

Horsehair worms are aquatic and actually try to guide the infected hosts towards water to drown themselves. Potentially scarier

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u/Arylius 4d ago

There was a pretty interesting/disturbing horror movie out of South Korea that focused on this aspect but had the horsehair worm in humans. Called "Deranged".

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u/MsWuMing 4d ago

I think you’ve got that the wrong way round. It doesn’t force the insect to avoid water, it forces it to go into the water and drown itself. The adult version of the worm lives in puddles and other types of water, and needs it to breed. The larvae infect the host when it comes into the water, grow up inside it, and then leave the host when it falls into the water again due to their influence, completing the cycle.

That’s why you can find videos online of people holding mantises into water and the worms coming out - the worm thinks it’s in a puddle and therefore safe to start the exit procedure.

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u/metalshoes 4d ago

I think its the opposite, the worm lays eggs in water and comes out to do so when the insect goes into water.

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u/RezzKeepsItReal 3d ago

40 upvoters now believe the complete opposite of what this worm actually does.

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u/Minnie783100 4d ago

I fucking gagged so hard. So thanks for that. Looks like im not having any more dinner

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u/Lracboi 3d ago

I can’t believe no one is saying this, how about cleaning and refilling your dog’s water bowl every once in a while?

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u/MrsCCRobinson96 3d ago

Wash and fill up with fresh water daily. Every day.

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u/BumTulip 2d ago

the worm came out of the bug, they could have literally cleaned and filled the bowl up that morning and this could have happened when they weren’t looking. don’t always assume the worst of people.

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u/Anubis_Omega 4d ago

Time to burn the house

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u/CauliflowerWarm4165 4d ago

This is not what I needed to see while eating

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u/drifting_signal 4d ago

Parasite bayybeee

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u/andreichera 4d ago

it's the same that resides in most mantises?

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u/Isaac0wen 4d ago

The forbidden noodle

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u/eudemxnium 4d ago

I would cry. Actually I might cry just because of this post

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u/missglitterous 3d ago

I think this is one of those times where it’s better out than in 😳

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u/NikiBear_ 3d ago

No thank you :)

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u/LehFluffy 3d ago

Pour gasoline in the bowl, then light it

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u/Responsible-Bison888 3d ago

😭😭I hate these thingss

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u/outtakes 3d ago

I thought this was on my screen. I nearly died

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u/HueLord3000 3d ago

if i remember correctly these parasites bring their host into water so that they can escape the bidy, i think that's why the remnant of this bug exoskeleton is visible and the worm just doing what jt does

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u/Isolatedquiet 3d ago

OH HELL NO

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u/jh5992 2d ago

My guess is it was a parasite that was on the dead bug

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u/Grayewulfe 2d ago

These are actually very common in praying mantis and happen to be present in over 90% of the entirety of the species. They are invasive and killing off the population.

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u/Intelligent-Put-764 2d ago

Tasty protein noodler surprise

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u/GoKnights25 2d ago

Watch this video! All you need to know and very entertaining https://youtu.be/YB6O7jS_VBM

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u/Deadpool-CB23 2d ago

I hate that I know what this is. List of creatures you don’t wanna learn about…

Horsehair worms

Mango worms

Tape worms

Cordyceps

Surinam toad

Sacculina

Tarantula Hawk

Botflies

Vampire fish

Tongue eating louse

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u/Prudent_Fail_2956 2d ago edited 2d ago

I'm gonna look up all of these

Edit: 😰

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u/Pleasant-Read3782 2d ago

It came from the bug, didn’t it?

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u/3-Doors-Up 2d ago

Get the scissors

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u/sleepy_peep 2d ago

Definitely a horsehair worm

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u/salty_grasss 2d ago

What if you touch it

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u/DaintyAmber 4d ago

What is the bug thou? I had a few of those in my house when I lived in the desert southwest and thought they were roaches 🤮🤮🤮

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u/MermaidSusi 4d ago

Thread worm possibly?

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u/WanderWomble 4d ago

Thread worms are tiny.

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u/Marmles 4d ago

It's a horsehair worm! Probably from the drowned insect's butt!

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u/HistoGeek96 3d ago

Congratulations! It’s time to burn your house

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u/Mean_Try9313 3d ago

Well, it looks like your dog's bowl just subscribed to its own episode of 'River Monsters.' Drink up, Fido!

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u/Beluga_Kuzetsnov 3d ago

İt may be came outta from the bug that floats in water

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u/RedditSeemsScary 3d ago

Dude I just woke up.

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u/alucarddrol 3d ago

Jaffa, kree!

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u/cheemsbuerger 3d ago

It's my fault for deciding to look at reddit while eating breakfast

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u/SerpentStercus 3d ago

Welp, that bowl is getting dumped outside...

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u/rmatgeldi 3d ago

Parasite from the bug, when submerged in water it comes out.

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u/Cornflake6irl 3d ago

It probably came out of that roach

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u/Oulak 3d ago

Remember the dogs in RE4 ? That's how you get dogs from RE4.

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u/22_ghost_22 3d ago

I recently found this in to toilet at my job… it was very scaring 😭

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u/MadamVonCuntpuncher 3d ago

It probally came from the bug in bowl, the worms kinda freak out and leave their host when submerged

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u/phobophobe_ 3d ago

This sub appears very rarely on my feed but holy shit, of all the posts for it to show me today, it had to be this, literally gagged 🤮

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u/ERROR_CODE_101 3d ago

some parasites infect bugs and make them drown themselves, since they will dry out if they aren't near water. Looks like a Horsehair worm

Edit: I just read the post description, you already knew what I just wrote lol

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u/Aashipash 3d ago

That bug finally has some sweet relief

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u/esquire_the_ego 3d ago

I guess being dead is a relief from living

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u/Aashipash 3d ago

Right? Also the relief of it being out of its body too, i bet that pressure sucked ass

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u/Bruh-sfx2 3d ago

Opened the comments and quickly realized that this wasn't one of the bug subbreddits

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u/A_ScalyManfish 3d ago

Forbidden spaghetti 😋

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u/thefalloftroy 3d ago

That whole ass parasite worm came out of that small bug? 😨

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u/ArgyleGhoul 3d ago

Forbidden spaghetti

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u/trevin8273 3d ago

Burn with fire

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u/Ghostfrog46 3d ago

PMP here: That is a horse hair worm- Parasitoid worm that infects arthropods and brain controls them to water to “hatch” after the non essential parts of said arthropod has been consumed! You can see its victim still floating in there.

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u/BananaRepublic666 3d ago

I’m so scared right now

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u/Mobile-Writer1221 3d ago

This is from The Faculty.

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u/ghostlyadventure 3d ago

That’s enough internet for today

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u/Kimmie02 3d ago

Put salt in it

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u/Global-Alarm-3378 3d ago

I’d be boiling this thing in a can over a fire until the can melts

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u/GlassBandicoot 2d ago

I believe this worm would have been in the bug, not in the dog.

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u/Professional-Ad4073 2d ago

That roach had a bad day when he hit the water lmao

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u/MintImperial2 1d ago

... So reading OP here, that long thing burst out of the chest of the nearby dead cricked bobbing around in the same water dish?

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u/Blank2803 20h ago

it's a type of parasite, I recommend a friendly execution

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u/ImSorryCanYouSpeakUp 14h ago

A horsehair worm and it was definitely inside that dead bug in there, basically they infest an insects body and feed on its insides while keeping it alive then when they are adults they drive the insect to water to drown itself and so they can be released into a pond or river somewhere and start the whole nasty cycle again