Post #15097

Horsehair: A worm parasite of our water bodies. What is worth knowing about it? In the stereotypically dark fantasy universe of Warhammer 40,000, there is a group of creatures that people call Genestealers. These creatures penetrate human society, mimicking its members and spreading further and further until they can destroy it in the flames of a senseless and merciless uprising. But this is all, of course, fiction. Real genestealers look just like the previews. The creature in the photograph is a horsehair, also known as a hairworm, also known as a nematomorpha - a relative of roundworms that lives wherever there are permanent standing bodies of water. He is also a deadly parasite. However, when you see one in the lake, you wouldn’t think that it could be dangerous for anyone. Well, a worm 5-10 centimeters long swims about its business - well, let it swim. Adult hairworms are not dangerous to anyone. Don't be alarmed if you see them in the summer, they can't do any harm. And even vice versa, hairworms themselves are prey for hundreds of animal species. Their biggest oddity is their method of reproduction. Each horsehair releases pheromones that attract other worms. And they also release pheromones, which attract even more hairworms. Therefore, after some time, somewhere on the shore, a gigantic and terrible lump is formed, in which many males mate with many females. Soon after mating, the females lay long chains of eggs and die - their role is completed. And from the eggs hatch parasitic larvae, greedily looking for a host. In most cases, they find the larvae of aquatic insects (for example, mosquitoes), gnaw a tiny hole in them and penetrate into the abdominal cavity, where they turn into cysts - almost impenetrable capsules. And then they simply wait until their real owner - a larger predatory insect - swallows them along with food. And that's when the fun begins. From the intestine, horsehair penetrates into the abdominal cavity of the host, where it feeds on the hemolymph and surrounding tissues. And at the same time, it slowly and systematically subjugates the victim’s consciousness. First, he forces the insect to jump randomly from side to side. Then - strive towards the light, moving towards the brightest spot within visibility. It could be a polished metal surface, a sunbeam or a reflection of the sun on the surface of the water - this is where the parasite directs its owner. The hairworm needs water to move on to the next stage. And for a very long time we could not understand: how does the worm manage to control its owner so delicately? Biochemical studies of the tissues of infected insects showed that the hairworms secreted specific proteins into its hemolymph, which help it deceive the host’s immunity - but nothing more. Everything else was normal! And only 3 years ago, scientists from the Japanese Center for Research in the Dynamics of Biosystems decided to compare the genome of horsehair and the praying mantis