What type of worm

tabby aspreme

Took a few of these out of a water trough today, the water is supplied directly from a spring, they were white in the water but turned a light brown color as soon as I took them out, they were 100-150 mm long and about 2mm wide, there skin was very tough and had ridges on it.

New Home

I'll find out the name for you in a minute, but those are parasitic worms that wriggle into the body of various insects (crickets, grasshoppers, locusts, etc, and turn them into zombies. No, I'm not making it up!

New Home

Now I remember! Gordian worm, so called because when it comes out of its host it ties itself in knots. It's also known as Horsehair worm. Innocuous to people and animals, not so much to insects.

The videos are as fascinating as they're disturbing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap8Ts6lv_k0

They only come out of their host when the host is in water.

tabby aspreme

When I took them out of the water some of them did tie themselves into knots.

New Home

I saw one coming out a cricket, once. It was like something out of a horror/sci-fi movie. Thankfully the cricket got away, but that worm was scaaaaary.

Stigura

New Home wrote: »

Innocuous to people and animals, not so much to insects.

That's a bloody relief! :eek:

tabby aspreme

I happy to know that they are harmless to humans as I regularly get a drink from there.

New Home

Maybe filter the water beforehand, next time... although, that would protect you against the worms, not against their eggs.

Ok, maybe it's best if you boil it first.

tabby aspreme

New Home wrote: »

Maybe filter the water beforehand, next time... although, that would protect you against the worms, not against their eggs.

Ok, maybe it's best if you boil it first.

It's the nicest water to drink, coming straight up out of the ground, I will clean the silt out of the bottom of it, put some white builders lime into the trough , give it a day to settle and chance it again, as next week is to be warm

Stigura

Urrgh! This has got me thinking, now .....

I'm on a water scheme. And the pipe runs down from above my place. Feeds my kitchen as it goes. Then carries on down to my stables.

Thing is, I have a small, automatic, corner drinker in the pen. Completely under cover, inside a roofed stall area. Yet, I'm always finding earth worms in there.

This thread's got me thinking; How the bloody hell do they get In there?!?

Not like they'll wriggle across concrete, to climb up a concrete block wall, is it? Horses are hardly going to suck them up and spit them in there. No bird's going to spend its time gathering them and dropping them in the water bowl.

And yet, I'm pretty sure ~ having completely drained, scrubbed and allowed the bowl to refill, just a week or two ago ~ there'll be a worm or three in there now.

I don't like where this is going ....!

tabby aspreme

Stigura wrote: »

Urrgh! This has got me thinking, now .....


I don't like where this is going ....!

Out to the medicine press, and get yourself some ivomec, you'll be fine

New Home

... and you know what they say: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!"... :pac:

New Home

But then again...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3428576/

Stigura

It's just the thought of them putting more body into my home brew! (Baulk!!!)

New Home

Think "Tequila!"...

recedite

My drinking water comes untreated from a spring. I reckon its probably rich in biodiversity
But hey, at least I know there's no toxic chemicals in it.
I reckon you would build up an immunity to whatever is living in your drinking water. If you didn't, and it was harming you, you would soon know all about it.

Strawberry1975

Buy Bottled water
Ya tend to loose your teeth your hair your mind
Drinking weils infested water
Rich in Dead sheep silage effluent
Good for ones teeth
Good way of loosening teeth
Prolonged use side effect's
By Golly

Tiercel Dave

Strawberry1975 wrote: »

Probably a Worm from co. kerry
then again most likely a worm from the north.
Or Two worms from the Pale
Rich in Dead sheep silage effluent
Good for ones teeth
Good way of loosening teeth
Prolonged use side effect's
By Golly

Is that a poem?.....

Strawberry1975

Quiet possibility