Horsehair Worms:
The officials of the Forest Department have stumbled upon Horsehair worm or Nematomorpha in the Motidol beat area of the Mohandra region in the Southern Forest Division under Panna Tiger Reserve.
- Horsehair worms, also known as Gordian worms, belong to the phylum Nematomorpha.
- They are long, measuring from several inches to over 14 inches.
- They are quite thin, ranging from 1/25 inch to 1/16 inch wide (1 mm to 1.5 mm) and are uniform in diameter from front to back.
- They vary in color from whitish to yellow/tan to brown/black.
- They occur in knotted masses or as single worms in water sources such as ponds, rain puddles, swimming pools, animal drinking troughs, and even domestic water supplies.
- Adult worms are free-living and non-parasitic.
- Immature stages are internal parasites of grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, beetles, and other insects and millipedes and centipedes.
- They are not parasites of humans, livestock, or pets and pose no public health threat.
- They should be considered beneficial because they can be effective in controlling certain insects.
