Well, not worth it to you, but possibly to the Gordian Worm growing out of your head!
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At the Loom we believe that the path to wisdom runs through the Land of Gross.
We do not show you pictures of worms crawling out of frog noses merely to ruin your lunch. We do not urge you to check out these freaky videos of worms crawling out of frog mouths and fish gills merely to give you…
(From the Gilbert Lab at the University of Texas)
This carpenter ant (genus Campanotus), and the bullet ant in the first film clip below (Paraponera clavata), have fallen victim to parasitic fungi of the genus Cordyceps, which manipulate the behaviour of their host in order to increase their…
Just when you think you should not go back into the water, something like this comes along and tells you....
You were absolutely right to not want to go back into the water.
That was a Gordian worm sliding out of a cricket.
And this is a Zombie Snail Parasite:
Good stuff from Zimmer:
You go for a swim, and you don't even notice the tiny worm that burrows into your skin. It slips into a vein and surges along through the blood for a while. Eventually it leaves your blood vessels and starts creeping up your spinal cord. Creep creep creep, it goes, until…
More info?
That... was... so... COOL! One wonders how the heck those things fit in the host in the first place.
Gordian or horsehair worms (Nematomorpha) have larvae that are parasitic on arthropods. When the larva reaches maturity, it emerges from the host into water. At least some species are apparently able to manipulate their host's behaviour to make it seek out water as in the video.
If a fish or frog swallows the cricket with the worm still in it, the worm will probably escape to open water. Fiendish, eh?