What kind of worm would be climbing up my Goldenrods?

[XemaSab]

I was just outside and there was a SUPER slender worm climbing up one of the plants. It was about the thickness of a thread, four inches long, and it DEFINITELY wasn't a caterpillar. It's raining today, if that helps at all.

What could it have been?

And is it dangerous to me, the dogs, or the plants? :shrug:

[HeresyLives]

1. One with no allergies, I assure you.

[phantom power]

2. horsehair worm?

http://www.kaweahoaks.com/html/horsehairworms.html

[mike_c]

3. very unlikely....

Horsehair worms are internal parasites of (mostly) insects, and usually leave their host in water, after influencing it's behavior to make it seek water. I suppose it's possible that one might have left the host in a puddle on a leaf, or something. If so, it's looking for a place to lay eggs, and will die.

[XemaSab]

6. That looks possible

The odd part is that the worm is nowhere near any water, and it appears to be freakishly arboreal. It took some searching, but I relocated it a few inches away from where I last saw it free-crawling up the side of a wooden stake. :wtf:

FWIW, the thing is bicolored, with the front end a delicate wheat color and the back end grayish-brown. :shrug:

[JohnWxy]

27. obviously middle aged. getting grey.

[Trajan]

4. Hungry worms ?

Lonely worms ?

I know not the Nematodes ...

[babylonsister]

5. There's a joke in there somewhere. nt

[ConcernedCanuk]

23. LOL - I thought the same thing

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. . :evilgrin: . .

[mike_c]

7. how is it moving?

If it's scrunching and extending, it's an oligochete annelid of some sort, and you should be able to see annulations if you look closely. Nematodes whip back and forth to locomote, but only the mermithid nematodes get anywhere near that big, and they're all internal parasites (think those lovely roundworms you recall from ZOOL 110). Horsehair worms were mentioned above, but they're even less likely-- but they look like nematodes but tend to curl up into a tangle when outside the host.

There are some insect larvae that it MIGHT be-- wire worms come to mind, elaterid beetle larvae-- but four inches and thread-like doesn't sound right. Anyway, any of the insect larvae that it might be CRAWL, rather than scrunch-extend or whiplash locomotion.

TAKE A PIC NEXT TIME, DAMMIT!

on edit-- oops, intestinal roundworms are ascarids, not mermithids. Brain fart.

[XemaSab]

8. Just for you I braved the torrential rain

It's moving with a whipping motion, which is why the front end is blurry in some shots.







(Oh, and what looks like the thicker area on an earthworm just looks like a discolored area in life.)

[xchrom]

9. yeah -- that looks like a horsehair

out of it's environment.

[mike_c]

11. too thick, and the little hook at the end is a telltale giveaway....

Male Ascaris, or a related ascarid.

[xchrom]

13. oh cool -

i'm glad somebody knows -- but it sure looked like some of the horsehairs in the other pics.

[XemaSab]

14. It's too cool until it's YOUR yard

x(

[xchrom]

22. LOL -- oh -- uh -- YOU POOR DEAR!!!

how'd i do?

[XemaSab]

15. How can it be too thick?

In the photos, the top of the stake is 3/4 inch by 1 1/2 inches. The thing is TINY and VERY slender.

[mike_c]

17. hoesehair worms are even slimmer....

eom

[mike_c]

10. THAT, my dear, is someone's intestinal roundworm....

Looks like a classic Ascaris, male. Nematoda. Adults do not move from host to host, so that unfortunate individual was rudely expelled. Have the pets checked. Or whomever else is crapping in the garden....

[XemaSab]

12. The offending creature is now living in a 50% alcohol solution in a dill jar.

Looks like a few trips to the vet are in order.

And JESUS H. CHRIST I should not have done an image search for roundworms. x(

(Would it have been climbing around like that? How defined should the hook be? This dude was very weakly hooked at the end, and it looks more pronounced in the picture because the tail is a little lower than the rest of the creature. FWIW, the nearest "bomb" was about 4 feet away.)

[mike_c]

16. the climbing is probably a reflex response to detachment...

...from the intestines-- they probably have to constantly readjust position internally to avoid the fate that one suffered. It's WAY out of its normal element. Might be female if the posterior hook is an optical illusion. But it's definitely a nematode, and the ONLY ones that size are ascarids. If you have a microscope and a strong stomach you can make a fecal smear of that nearest bomb just for jollies, but like I said, I'd have the pets checked. Just take a stool sample to the vet-- it'll be full of eggs if your dogs are infested.

on edit: BTW, splashage from those piles-- or just where the piles were in the recent past-- onto your veggies is how the eggs find a new host. Just sayin'. Wash them well. Remember, Ascaris eggs are VERY resistant and last a long time.

[XemaSab]

18. Two questions:

How sharp should the sharp tail be?

Also, what color should a roundworm be? (I'm half suspecting that he's really translucent, but he's digesting something darker in color.)

(And on edit: the "hook" isn't there now that the thing is in alcohol.)

[XemaSab]

21. Can I call you so we can talk about this on the phone?

The DU thing is getting annoying.

Hell, if I had anything else for you I'd drive over there, but the only good thing I've seen lately is a flat mallard. :P

(PS My mom says you should come over for dinner. We're having spaghetti.)

[mike_c]

25. oops, sorry I missed you....

Sure-- do you still have the phone #? PM me if not. I'll be home this afternoon if you're still concerned. It's no biggie. Infestations are common in animals.

[applegrove]

19. Your goldenrods are out already? Ours don't come out till late July.

[XemaSab]

20. The plants are growing

No flowers yet. :)

[Kablooie]

24. Probably a conficker. It's out and about nowadays.

[XemaSab]

26. Late breaking development:

I found another worm about 5 feet up in a rosebush about 15 feet from the original worm.

The plot thickens.