General: Horsehair Worms (Class Gordioidea) are curious worm-like creatures of wet places and slow moving water. Adults are long, thin, free living creatures, while larvae are parasitic, often living inside grasshoppers and their relatives. One curious thing about these worms is that when a larvae is ready to emerge, it causes the infected grasshopper to jump into the water, where the adult safely emerges into the water.

Horsehair Worms are also called Gordian Worms because of the way they tie themselves in knots.

Taxonomy: Phylum Nematomorpha; Class Gordioidea