hairworm

American  

[hair-wurm] / ˈhɛərˌwɜrm /

noun

1. any small, slender worm of the family Trichostrongylidae, parasitic in the alimentary canals of various animals.

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hairworm British  

/ ˈhɛəˌwɜːm /

noun

1. any hairlike nematode worm of the family Trichostrongylidae, such as the stomach worm, parasitic in the intestines of vertebrates

2. Also called: horsehair worm.  any very thin long worm of the phylum (or class) Nematomorpha, the larvae of which are parasitic in arthropods

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Etymology

Origin of hairworm

First recorded in 1650–60; hair + worm

Example Sentences

Hairworm parasitoids that make grasshoppers jump into water and drown.

From Washington Post

One particularly intriguing example of parasitic manipulation occurs when a hairworm infects a grasshopper and seizes its brain in order to survive and self-replicate.

From Salon

One example of the complex role parasites can play is a hairworm that lives in grasshoppers in Japan and tends to lead its host to jump into water, where the grasshoppers become a major food source for rare fish.

From The Guardian

There’s Spinochordodes tellinii, the hairworm that compels crickets to drown themselves so the worm can access the water it needs to breed.

From Scientific American

One particular hairworm species, the African hairworm, was discovered in Kenya in 2012.

From Science Magazine