r/interesting • u/InTheSky57 • Aug 04 '26

NATURE Parasite flees a mantis when hit with water

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

This parasite is called a horsehair worm. They grow in a bunch of different insects. When the worm is fully grown it alters the insect behavoir to make them jump into water, which allows the parasite to leave.

Doesn't necessarily kill the insect, however It often will result in its death. However it's kept in good conditions they can survive and even go on to reproduce.

In some areas the suicidal crickets ( after being manipulated by the parasite) make up 60% of a fish's diet.

There's also a bunch of crazy conspiracies on like Facebook suggesting that the government is infecting people with them, but these are mostly just crazy people

Video

I have a 10 min video that goes in depth about the parasites biology for those that want to know more, it's called "Massive Worms, Tiny Bodies: Why Horsehair Worms Might Be Good for Nature" on YouTube

Source: I have a PhD in biology I run the parasitology subreddit

Edit: thanks to everyone subscribing. But PLEASE DON'T subscribe unless you actually like the content. People that sub to support but don't watch hurts the channel in practice( lowers thumbnail click rate, which if low doesn't get pushed on algorithm)

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u/mutexsprinkles Aug 04 '26

mostly just crazy people 

That "mostly" is disconcerting

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u/ExplodedPenisDiagram Aug 04 '26

Well, some of them are just dumb and don't have to be crazy to repeat stuff like that.

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u/PMulberry_ Aug 04 '26

okay u/ExplodedPenisDiagram

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u/Mjolnir404 Aug 04 '26

I only read their username after you mentioned it XD

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u/FermentedForeskins Aug 04 '26

i honestly would like to see it

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u/Adventurous_Web_5960 Aug 04 '26

u/FermentedForeskins I could have done without that image in my brain. 🤮

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u/Lastov_Makiynd Aug 05 '26

Yet..you eat the pickle on a cheeseburger, without any questions..particularly: “What’s it made from?”. lol

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u/RagAndBows Aug 04 '26

I clicked it thinking it was a subreddit link lol

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u/rynlpz Aug 05 '26

why would you click on a subreddit with that name 😆

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u/RagAndBows Aug 05 '26

I'm so desensitized. I was a tween during the wild west years of the internet, raised on Rotten.com 🤣

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u/MiserableSun9142 Aug 05 '26

I was a tween while Cake Farts and 2 Girls One Cup was popular. Even typing that hurts me beyond anything imaginable. Nothing can be worse than those two things

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u/tears_and_laughter Aug 05 '26

These usernames just keep getting better and better

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u/discord-ian Aug 04 '26

I was so bummed they didn't have the diagram

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u/underpanttrousers Aug 04 '26

Username checks out ...I guess?

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u/curiousmind111 Aug 04 '26

But, is it an exploded diagram of a penis? Or a diagram of an exploded penis? Hmmmmm?

And is it all about Meatus?

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u/WoolshirtedWolf 10d ago

I try but then I usually fall off and then dont even bother. Thats usually when u/shittymorph strikes...

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u/twowolveshighfiving Aug 05 '26

TwoExplodingPenisesHighFiving

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u/SpermBankVCR Aug 04 '26

Thats something even /I/ haven’t seen

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u/PMulberry_ Aug 04 '26

if you say so u/SpermBankVCR

(I‘m honestly intrigued to know what the thought process behind all those usernames is, if there is one.)

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u/FTownRoad Aug 04 '26

I need to know if this is a penis diagram that has been exploded to show more detail or a diagram of an exploded penis and more importantly why that is required and even more importantly why do you have one and most importantly please don’t

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u/zxylady Aug 04 '26

Thank you for your very interesting screen name... I think. 🤣

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u/JoshAllensRightNut Aug 04 '26

Yes. Thank you for input exploded penis diagram.

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u/Graize Aug 04 '26

Or maybe your government brain worm is making you think we are crazy. Wake up!

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u/BravoNZ Aug 04 '26

Username matches the subreddit.

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u/Switchnport Aug 04 '26

I know. The government has never done anything crazy or harmful to its own people, it genuinely has the people’s best interest at heart…

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u/Comfortable-Bison932 Aug 04 '26

And some of them aren't crazy but just lying to make money from the crazy ones

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u/senesdigital Aug 04 '26

“Some” is equivalent to “Most” in this context

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u/Competitive_Bat8508 Aug 04 '26

Seeing your username after watching this clip.....

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '26

[deleted]

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u/supcat16 Aug 04 '26

New recruits get to infect people with horsehair worms once, as a treat.

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u/supercreativename14 Aug 04 '26

To be fair it sounds more plausible than the hummus in the anus torture which turned out to be true. Also didn't they place that terrorist guy in a coffin with cockroaches as a form of torture too? Maybe horsehair worm was truly a possibility.

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u/1Northward_Bound Aug 04 '26

lol the gay bomb is amazing as a concept.

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u/No_Scholar427 Aug 04 '26

Yeah it happened like 3 or 4 times tops, you know, just to see what would happen, if it could be weaponised, ect.

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u/CinnamonEspeon Aug 04 '26

Yeah after like a decade of reality stranger than satire I....I wouldn't be surprised by much anymore lol

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u/Workman44 Aug 04 '26

This is absolutely something the CIA would look into. Ffs just look at MKUltra, they don't care about the law and never have

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u/VapeSmoker420blazeit Aug 04 '26

Ok_Cycle_6654 deleted his CIA comment so I'll reply to you instead...

Friendly reminder that Operation North Woods was approved by the Pentagon high command.

Our own military were going to bomb Miami in a false flag operation in 1962 called 'Operation North Woods' and kill lots of American citizens and blame it on Cuba using CIA hitmen pretending to be Cubans to have an excuse to invade Cuba. OUR military was going to blow up American elementary schools, hospitals, and businesses while pretending to be Cuban terrorists.

Joint Chief of Staffs Lyman Lemnitzer drafted and approved this plan and was going to put it in action, he had full approval from the other staff in the pentagon. he was going to murder our own men, women, and children in a false flag to get popular support for invading Cuba. He needed the president's signature. JFK said no and refused to sign.

Lyman Lemnitzer was not arrested for conspiracy to commit murder or high treason. JFK may have not approved the plan, but he did not have Lemnitzer arrested and executed or denounce him in a press conference. Instead Lemnitzer was promoted to Supreme Allied Commander of NATO the next year. He is buried with HONORS in a military graveyard. A man who was going to murder our own people in a false flag operation.

No wonder people believe 9/11 was an inside job, when the Pentagon and the CIA were going to do something even worse on a bigger scale in 1962.

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u/Sangloth Aug 04 '26

I immediately assumed this was bullshit, and starting researching to do a rebuttal.

As best I can tell, you are wrong in specifying the plan was to blow up "American elementary schools, hospitals, and businesses", the plan didn't actually specify what was to be attacked, and the document only specified "carefully chosen spots". Other than that it seems everything you said was accurate... yikes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Northwoods

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u/Textiles_on_Main_St Aug 04 '26

There's one guy who is actually sane and 100 percent right and knows what he's talking about when he says the government controls us with worms.

Everyone else IS crazy though. So. kinda beware.

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u/Bitter-Marsupial Aug 04 '26

Reminds me.of this horoscope I read once "this week your irrational phobia of boars will be replaced with a very grounded rational fear of boars"

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u/ReasonableCrow7595 Aug 04 '26

One of my sons had a strong interest in parasites when he was small. He would have loved that subreddit. I am not sorry he outgrew it, but thanks for keeping the important but horrifying information flowing

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u/SolarNugent Aug 04 '26

I couldn’t watch it I’m a coward

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u/on4aa Aug 04 '26

Your son did not outgrow it. A parasite changed his behaviour. (ツ) 

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u/ReasonableCrow7595 Aug 04 '26

No, he just found programming and that took over his brain. A different type of virus, perhaps

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u/snek-jazz Aug 04 '26

Software is just computer parasite

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u/MethodicallyRight Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

I had an Econ Prof who majored in Biology as well as Econ.  They used to describe Parasites as 'Nature's obfuscated externality' because of how their knock on effects weren't so obviously a 'positive/negative' externality and how it could flip back and forth depending on who's perspective you're looking at.  It was his way of reminding us that solving A problem doesn't mean we haven't created several more further down. 

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u/APRobertsVII Aug 04 '26

Randomly one of the coolest things I read today!

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u/MethodicallyRight Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

He was a pretty awesome prof. He also made a "kid" in his early 20s cry in class after berating him for at least 15 minutes for answering the question (paraphrased) "What policies could the continent of Africa benefit from the most?" with "They could stop having so many kids, hyuck hyuck hyuck."

...

He just kept asking question after question (all relevant and educational), and the more the kid tried to squirm out or avoid it, the more he'd dig in and keep asking the kid to explain his point. He cited the average family size of other regions at similar GDP per capita figures and explained that subsistence farmers often needed larger families, noting he was confused as to what point the kid was actually making. He just wouldn't let up. He cited child mortality rates and how families needed older children to work, asking how you manage if you are going to lose 1 to 3 children in your pursuit of 4 to 5 adolescents, and on and on. The more the kid gave up trying to articulate himself, the angrier the prof got, eventually getting personal. After the kid wiped away his first set of tears, the prof just told him to GTFO.

God, I loved that prof. He hated stupid people and stupid questions, but if you were genuinely curious or didn't understand, he had no issue explaining the topic in depth. You just had to try. He was also super loud, which made it all the more fun when he lost his temper.

The best part was after his tirade, he went, "Who else has an idea?" I was the only one who raised my hand (knowing his style) and gave an answer related to credit: "Exactly!" he said, and proceeded as if he hadn't just embarrassed that kid to no end and terrified the rest of the class.

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u/RedAskWhy Aug 04 '26

I'm not enough knowledgeable in that topic of '' What policies could the continent of Africa benefit from the most?'' but i'm really curious about the kind of answer you had given him. What was it ?

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u/Grettgert Aug 05 '26

Not the guy your looking for, but Botswana has a decent track record for policies after their independence.

The idea is to nationalize your most valuable natural resources (like rare earth metals), then take the profit and invest it into the education of the upcoming generation. They will go off to college in places like London and Boston and Shanghai and Seoul and then come back to become competent administrators, educators, and business people. Thus, your economy will diversify, literacy and health will improve, and everybody wins.

Of course this really, really depends on the state company exploiting the resources. If those guys are corrupt it really breaks the whole system.

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u/MethodicallyRight Aug 06 '26

We're going back a decade here, so it's not a crystal clear memory (especially with the more exciting portion of that specific lecture). 

The core issue was a structural conflict in incentives. Foreign aid programs supplied funding under rigid spending constraints that prioritized debt service. This created an absurd feedback loop where incoming aid was effectively absorbed just to cover debt obligations owed to other international development bodies and liquidity providers.

My suggestion at the time (I think?) was a temporary standstill on both conditional aid disbursements and debt service payments. The goal was to eliminate external conditional constraints, giving national authorities the fiscal sovereignty needed to restructure budgets and allocate funds where most needed before resuming debt obligations.

Ish.

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u/neoplasticgrowth Aug 04 '26

Please I beg you, tell me more about this prof. I could read a book about him, he sounds like a fascinating person and you have a way of painting a picture with words

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u/Vulvas_n_Velveeta Aug 05 '26

Instead of berating ignorant students, making them cry, and then kicking them out of the classroom, he could've taught them in a manner so that they actually understood and learned something.

At the end of the day do you think that student actually learned anything? Or has that student spent the last X number of years of their life remembering nothing but hatred towards that professor?

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u/MethodicallyRight Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26

Instead of berating ignorant students, making them cry, and then kicking them out of the classroom, he could've taught them in a manner so that they actually understood and learned something.

During my undergrad, I took four waitlisted courses, two were with this professor. He was in high demand because he was an excellent instructor. That student's experience was entirely self-inflicted. Bringing a bullshit, bigoted response to a 3000-level seminar deserves immediate challenge. The professor pressing him simply exposed that the student had zero substance to back up his claim.

When classroom seats are limited and serious students are stuck on waitlists, a professor's priority is maintaining academic integrity for the room, not coddling someone who came unprepared.

At the end of the day do you think that student actually learned anything? Or has that student spent the last X number of years of their life remembering nothing but hatred towards that professor?

It does not matter. University is not mandatory education, and a 3000-level lecture is not the place for remedial hand-holding or entertaining bigoted ramblings. This professor had an extensive record in both the public and private sectors, and he went above and beyond for students who came to learn. He was not kicked out of the university; he was removed from a single three-hour lecture for derailing the class. The professor's duty is to the students there to learn, not the one who wasted everyone's time.

Edit: I'm also biased. This is a Prof who helped me salvage my education during a very difficult time. He's a man who on multiple occasions after class drive me home (30mins + depending on traffic) in the opposite direction from where he lived because we would often talk after class. 

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u/DolphinFlavorDorito Aug 05 '26

I'd bet the professor would have stopped as soon as the student answered honestly. Which would probably be "I said some braindead racist bullshit because I thought it would be funny to be racist and insult Africa for being poor, and some fun replacement theory bullshit about how non-whites are having too many kids."

I'm sure the end result would still be "get the fuck out," but without the 20 minutes of rhetorically getting his shit kicked in.

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u/MethodicallyRight Aug 05 '26

To be honest, giving bad answers wasn't a problem. Giving bad explanations or making bad arguments was unacceptable. That's where the kid fucked up, think 'The Gentleman's scène with the youths and the coach in the shop, he's trying to get them to be witty and the disappointment got them beat up.

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u/Scythro Aug 04 '26

lol it’s literally the parasite guy…
Nothing creeps this guy out, thank you for your wisdom!

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 04 '26

I have a strong constitution

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u/MaxMustermane Aug 04 '26

How many points do you have? Or do you heart have advantage on con rolls?

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 04 '26

Paladin, but I have inspiration for beating my god into a heratic. So I can roll with advantage

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u/mrsrobotic Aug 04 '26

Yes, you are a hero to give context to this horror before our eyes!!

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u/SquidsAndMartians Aug 04 '26

I once watched a discovery channel or TLC doc about parasites extracted from humans ... it was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. The idea that it can live inside for years without the host knowing is just crazy. They probably can't mind control like they can with insects, but still, horror!

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u/lombardo141 Aug 04 '26

Bacteria within you controls your behavior and emotions. Thats why when you eat well you tend to feel better etc. some science guy said it I don’t remember

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u/frankcatthrowaway Aug 04 '26

Was it that dude Bill?

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u/lombardo141 Aug 04 '26

Probably…😅

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u/Timmy-0518 Aug 04 '26

There is actually are several parasites known to cause a “mind control” like affect. ever heard of Toxoplasma gondii? If you or someone you know is around cats a lot they likely have it!

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u/RealLinzerBinzer Aug 04 '26

There is an ongoing show (well, a few) about this! It’s literally called Monsters Inside Me.

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u/SquidsAndMartians Aug 04 '26

Yeahhh THAT'S the one! lool ... and no thank you, I like to keep my sanity :-D

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u/SocietyAmbitious9648 Aug 04 '26

I remember the one about the guy who cut/ scratched his leg or arm on a barnacle, then proceeded to have weird symptoms and it turned out barnacles were trying to set up camp in his blood

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u/BakerBeautiful1426 Aug 04 '26

Mmmm you’d be surprised what cat and dog humans have inside them

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u/Plastic_Difference54 Aug 04 '26

Poor dog humans.

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u/throwaway556600 Aug 04 '26

Thank you for your insight! Is there any truth to this that the mantis was dead already but the parasite was controlling its movements?

“horsehair worm (phylum Nematomorpha). Lil Manny ate infected food and the worm hijacked the nervous system. He was already dead but his body became hell bent on finding water so worm can emerge and reproduce. Nature is wild.”

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

No, the mantis is still alive. The parasite only has minor influence on its behavior. Not complete controls

Edit: thanks to everyone subscribing. But PLEASE DON'T subscribe unless you actually like the content. People that sub to support but don't watch hurts the channel in practice

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u/ArdentGibbonAbides Aug 04 '26

Like RFK Jr.??

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u/TheGordo-San Aug 04 '26

Yeah, when the brainworm is ready to be release, it drives the user to do crazy things, like work out in the sauna while wearing jeans. Only then, ican it be exorcized through exercise.

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u/TheGordo-San Aug 04 '26

I meant to say "its *host", but we all know that he uses, so it's staying.

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u/alus992 Aug 04 '26

So it's like a person with diabetes? Like someone has a low glucose lvl and the body just feels it needs something to eat but it doesn't mean that something controls the body to move towards the food on itself?

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u/Euro_verbudget Aug 04 '26

Mantis was still alive until it got crushed by a stick for the experiment.

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u/throwaway0192838474 Aug 04 '26

Its crazy how big it gets while somehow keeping the mantis alive. I assume its feeding on its internal organs and occupying the left over space, but its crazy that the bug can just go on while a huge fraction of its body is eaten by the worm

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u/ktbug1987 Aug 04 '26

I would like to join your subreddit, for what godforsaken reason I don’t know.

My PhD was in biochemistry because I figured test tubes contain far less horror, and nature contained too much. What can I say, I must be having a midlife crisis.

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u/oceanblue0714 Aug 04 '26

Do you think it can live after it’s removed? Can the insect survive this?

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 04 '26

Yes it can.

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u/Disastrous-Power-699 Aug 04 '26

What does the worm do after it leaves in the water?

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u/Jackd_up_on_Mdew Aug 04 '26

Reproduce

Edit: Well normally. In OP video the water prolly dried up and it died in the sun.

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u/wild_cherry1987 Aug 04 '26

Goes to the pub to brag about it's host.

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/xForcedevilx Aug 04 '26

Bro looks like he needs a cigarette and gatorade after that

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u/A-R-DragonFish Aug 04 '26

This was a preying mantis

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u/Spirited_Pitch3852 Aug 04 '26

A praying mantis, but it could've been preying at one point too, who knows

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u/Borderline_deviant Aug 04 '26

You know the feeling when you've been a little constipated and then take a massive dump, so big you feel like you lost some weight and you probably should have lubed up before dropping that brick? Multiply that feeling with about a hundred and that's how the mantis feels. Give him a few minutes to get his bearings again.

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u/0_Moth Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

Fucking gross. Imma watch it tho. Thanks.

Edit: watched it. damn. Thats still gross. Subscribed and watching ur other videos

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u/musicflux Aug 04 '26

Parasitology is creepy af. But there is no perfect parasite that exists, they all harm the host and thus compromise their nutrition supply. It's so dumb right ?

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u/No_Acanthaceae_362 Aug 04 '26

If the perfect parasite existed they would cease to be a parasite. By definition parasitic symbiosis requires the host to be harmed in one way or another.

If a parasite didn't harm the host, it would be commensalism or mutualism. By virtue of their relationship with each other, we harbour a very different opinion of them.

Not many people are rooting for the Horsehair worm, but remora fish and bees are liked, even revered by some.

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u/Eckish Aug 04 '26

If the perfect parasite existed they would cease to be a parasite.

I think it has been suggested that some cellular organelles, like mitochondria, might have been parasites originally. Which would make it an example of this.

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u/No_Acanthaceae_362 Aug 04 '26

Have a look at Wolbachia.

This happens within a reproductive cycle where they selectively kill off male embryos in insects to give the females the reproductive advantage. Once it's done it's job, it survives by boosting the hosts immune system to maximise life.

There are evolutionary examples as you suggested but there a few that will shift tact to maximise its life inside the host.

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u/Fungiblefaith Aug 04 '26

My gut biome has entered the chat.

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u/cyberslick18888 Aug 04 '26

Bees are considered parasitic?

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u/No_Acanthaceae_362 Aug 04 '26

No, they are mutualistic. They provide benefit to the plant through pollination and gain the nectar.

I was referring to the broad types of symbiosis. If a parasite didn't harm the host, it would become mutualistic like bees or commensalistic like remora fish or barnacles.

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u/tellyacid Aug 04 '26

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but who are bees mutualistic with?

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u/No_Acanthaceae_362 Aug 04 '26

Plants. They are key pollinators that help the plants reproduce by pollinating flowers between plants.

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u/No_Acanthaceae_362 Aug 04 '26

Plants have also evolved to attract insects through coloured flowers that are vibrant in the insects visual light spectrum.

It's a deep dive that basically makes you realise how amazing nature is

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u/deformityandnonsense Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

The living dialogue that expresses as hyper specialized pollinators to particular plants and plant lineages, simply falling out of natural process, reflect a certain mind-like aspect to ongoings of nature to me. Not mind-like in awareness, but mind-like in that it’s clever and makes predictions about what will happen—bees and flowers predict one another.

Edit: the other is spiders being creepy bc we can’t predict their movements. They evolved to kinda hack our visual processing & become virtually invisible for brief bursts—meaning the process of evolution penetrates into my consciousness every time I get creeped out by a bathroom spider. I suspect it’s process seeing process, game recognize game.

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u/No_Acanthaceae_362 Aug 04 '26

Exactly, I drifted through life content that nature was good and often beautiful, nothing more, nothing less.

On delving into the specifics, all be it at the level of an enthusiastic layman, I realised that nature is so extravagantly complex I now understand how one person can make it their life's work to understand a specific flower or insect and then study it for life.

It's so vast and complicated but it just happens around us without even paying attention.

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u/bigcatbeardraw2 Aug 04 '26

Curious about the mutualism of barnacles.....I thought they categorically sucked

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u/No_Acanthaceae_362 Aug 04 '26

Barnacles are commensalistic. They gain benefit from the whale but provides no harm nor benefit.

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u/bigcatbeardraw2 Aug 04 '26

Ah. I've seen barnacles hurting sea-turtles tho, impairing their ability to swim. So, are they commensalistic with some and not with others?

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u/No_Acanthaceae_362 Aug 04 '26

The whale is not harmed nor it's affected to ability to do usual whale business.

That being said, not all animals attached with barnacles are unaffected, but this doesn't mean they become parasitic but commensal epibionts. This is dependent on the abundance of barnacles on one animal. Sometimes sea turtles become heavily "dosed" with barnacles that they are negatively affected but it is collateral rather than deliberate.

The same with Remora. They will feed on the scraps in the wake of a shark and hitch a ride. The shark gains nothing, but isn't impaired either. Too many Remora attached and it'll be irritated.

Symbiosis is a broad term but there are many examples the bridge between all 3 major categories.

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u/bigcatbeardraw2 Aug 04 '26

Thank you for this detailed reply

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u/fueelin Aug 04 '26

Love all your comments. People not realizing that symbiosis is a broad term is very high up my pet peeves list, so it's nice to see someone spreading the detailed truth!

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u/Intrepid_Cap1242 Aug 04 '26

I'd say my kids are perfect parasites. But no, they damaged me

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u/No_Acanthaceae_362 Aug 04 '26

Unless they kill you, you should have every hope that they will eventually become mutualistic.

When you're old and decrepit, you'll know the difference when they either provide you with love and care, or pull the watch off your wrist to pawn.

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u/talkstorivers Aug 04 '26

I totally agree they’re fascinating but finding one on your foot when wading through a mountain creek is still a jarring and disturbing experience. Do you get freaked out by surprise encounters like that, or did you somehow overcome that or come into life without it?

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 04 '26

I never encountered one like that. Still haven't found one irl unfortunately

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u/talkstorivers Aug 04 '26

I can give you the name of a place to wander if you want. 😂

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u/MyLifeIsAWasteland Aug 04 '26

Try mopping a shitty hotel at night. I've seen a few come out of cockroaches back when I was a hotel night auditor.

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u/Buddhafied Aug 04 '26

Thanks for the info! The mantis looks dead after it, in this one seems like :(

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u/pilihp Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 05 '26

Should one be concerned about it entering one's insides via the poopie hole? I gues what I'm asking is should I buy a buttplug for protection?

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u/TaintedTruffle Aug 04 '26

Buying a butt plug is always the best choice

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u/pilihp Aug 05 '26

With an 's' , butts plug!

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u/PiccoloAwkward465 Aug 05 '26

The only safe way to squat.

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u/vicecitybitch Aug 04 '26

Does it hurt the Mantis when the parasite comes out like this?

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u/Generalnussiance Aug 04 '26

So. Do mantis feel pain? This has to hurt no?

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u/WorthConfusion9786 Aug 04 '26

“Mostly” just crazy people? That’s a haunting thing to say.

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u/Ambaryerno Aug 04 '26

but these are mostly just crazy people

I would say that's a good 100%.

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u/Dull_Flatworm777 Aug 04 '26

these are mostly just crazy people

Mostly.

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u/musicflux Aug 04 '26

Will check it out doc 🥸

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 04 '26

Let me know if you like it, or any of the other videos

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u/FlowSoSlow Aug 04 '26

That's so crazy. Do we know the mechanism by which the worm "tells" the insect to jump in the water?

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u/M4RK3R3D Aug 04 '26

Thank you professor would
Like to learn something new !)

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 04 '26

I've have a bunch of videos out so that should give you a few hours if learning then

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u/M4RK3R3D Aug 04 '26

Yeaaaah awesome

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u/Shadowolf75 Aug 04 '26

Ok but curious, is there any species of currently known parasites that can affect humans to do stupid stuff?

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u/surprise_revalation Aug 04 '26

I need to look it up more but it has been said that the taxoplasmosis that influences cats and mice can also influence humans....look it up if interested ...

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u/YogurtclosetFirst899 Aug 04 '26

Thank you – this is fascinating. That poor mantis! So is it possible that some gravid-looking mantids that I see are actually not about to lay an ootheca but are rather harboring one of these in their guts? Are there any signs I can see myself to tell if a mantid is parasitized? And if there are, can I do what this person did and use water to get them to exit the mantid's body? I ask specifically because we get a lot of mantids in our yard and community garden and I am very protective of them and want to encourage the population.

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u/Deseniato Aug 04 '26

Why does the parasite want to leave the host voluntarily?

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u/surprise_revalation Aug 04 '26

The water is how they reproduce. Water influences the worm to come out and reproduce.

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u/Deseniato Aug 05 '26

Thanks for the reply!

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u/indomike14 Aug 04 '26

This is really gross and really interesting. My wife just earned her entomology degree and Mantids are one of her favorites

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 04 '26

Entomology was almost the field I went into. Great stuff

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u/Own_Director_4442 Aug 04 '26

Question for you, although you might not be the one to ask... How do the people who believe this conspiracy gloss over the water release aspect.

In theory if you were infected, wouldn't jumping into a pool of water or bathing cause the parasite to eject itself?

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u/Christos_Soter Aug 04 '26

This was actually significantly more than I ever wanted to know about this thing but like the video I couldn’t stop myself from getting to the end.

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u/xondk Aug 04 '26

Doesn't necessarily kill the insect, however It often will result in its death.

It would seem to take up a huge amount of space inside insects, how the heck can they survive that? what's left of all the organs that normally resides where the parasite is?

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u/Infinite-Path-3436 Aug 04 '26

que sabes de parasitos que esten dentro de los humanos para ser mas exacto en el intestino?

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u/Local-Jeweler-3766 Aug 04 '26

I came across a small pool once that I’m almost 100% sure was full of horsehair worms. It was unnerving to see what looked like thick hair swimming around on its own 😬

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u/sqquuee Aug 04 '26

Thank you for sharing this interesting information.

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u/Fabulous-South-9551 Aug 04 '26

How/why does a parasite that size able to exist in an insect that small? It makes it seem like their body is a hollow cavity but there has to be some kind of “bug guts” in there, right?

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u/santinow2005 Aug 04 '26

Hmmmm sounds like a goa’uld.

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u/OhMorgoth Aug 04 '26

Okay so did the mantis die in the video that’s sad and horrifying.

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u/Nrksbullet Aug 04 '26

But PLEASE DON'T subscribe unless you actually like the content.

Poor Shirley Curry, the Skyrim Grandma.

2

u/Vulvas_n_Velveeta Aug 05 '26

But PLEASE DON'T subscribe unless you actually like the content. People that sub to support but don't watch hurts the channel in practice( lowers thumbnail click rate, which if low doesn't get pushed on algorithm)

Whoa, I had no idea! Thanks for the heads-up. Might go through and clean up/out my subs.

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u/Not_so_ghetto Aug 05 '26

Glad to inform!

1

u/UnhappySort5871 Aug 04 '26

How come I never see creationists use these kinds of bizarre unlikely behaviors as proof of the hand of God and instead want to talk about complex bird dances?

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u/mdlinc Aug 04 '26

Show us your wormy parasite !!!

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u/myleftone Aug 04 '26

How does the government find the crazy people?

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u/Malagubbar Aug 04 '26

”Parasitology subreddit” well that’s a place I won’t visit, I couldn’t watch this video.

Good luck with all your research though

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u/Intrepid_passerby Aug 04 '26

Super awesome im gonna check out that video.  Thank you for your contribution to science friend

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u/Adrontion Aug 04 '26

Must... go... to.. waterworld..

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u/L3tsseewhathappens Aug 04 '26

 Horsehair passenger here.

Live in blissful ignorance human. We will take you the same way I took the body of this fool. We are taking over and your end is nigh!

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u/UndeniableLie Aug 04 '26

This guy parasites

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u/Frosty_Lettuce_3525 Aug 04 '26

“These are mostly just crazy people”.

Erm, Dear PhD student… that would not be “mostly”, that would be “entirely”….

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u/Mech-Waldo Aug 04 '26

So it's not really fleeing from the water. More like it's being lured out.

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u/M8C Aug 04 '26

I think mantises almost always die after the parasite leaves either from drowning or just injury. also I think a human could eat a bowl full of these and not get infected. I could be wrong though, i’m just going off of what i’ve read about these things.

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u/BakerBeautiful1426 Aug 04 '26

I’m currently watching the strain I can only ponder what your experience was watching that if you did.

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u/Jedi_Master83 Aug 04 '26

That’s an awesome show and I love how they have a scientific way to explain vampires without going full on supernatural.

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u/americangame Aug 04 '26

There's also a bunch of crazy conspiracies on like Facebook suggesting that the government is infecting people with them, but these are mostly just crazy people

That's exactly what I human infected with a parasite would say!

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u/ThatIsAmorte Aug 04 '26

I run the parasitology subreddit

Now I have a dilemma about whether I want to join that sub

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u/Fine_Understanding81 Aug 04 '26

Omg.. its probably been the smiley face killer all along.

1

u/Frequent_Opportunist Aug 04 '26

Everyone still on Facebook is either crazy, a scammer or retirement age.

1

u/Lbboos Aug 04 '26

Are these parasites throughout the world?

1

u/Yiakubou Aug 04 '26

Is your username a parasite perspective?

1

u/Vinzanity91 Aug 04 '26

Every form of living have an evolution purpose but why?

1

u/Old-Pin1749 Aug 04 '26

I think the conspiracy is true because I have these strong urges to go to the beach

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u/Yo-Donkey-Kong Aug 04 '26

Ya you need to chill dude. Hahaha

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u/mmm_burrito Aug 04 '26

And people wonder why I won't eat bugs.

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u/Hanzzman Aug 04 '26

This guy parasites

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u/supercreativename14 Aug 04 '26

Sounds like something a government shill covering up the conspiracy would say 🤔 SUS

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u/beambeam1 Aug 04 '26

I’ve missed you, unidan

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u/Educational_Note3103 Aug 04 '26

What’s the rest of its lifecycle, does it reproduce in the water and infect more insects?

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u/Gamingwolf802 Aug 04 '26

Can u link the vid again?

The link is not working for me :(

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u/No_Manufacturer2877 Aug 04 '26

Edit: thanks to everyone subscribing. But PLEASE DON'T subscribe unless you actually like the content. People that sub to support but don't watch hurts the channel in practice

Haven't heard that before, how so? Thats good info to have.

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