For the most part, I like to avoid such creatures as in this photo. However, while on a particular photo mission at the Pabineau Falls near Bathurst, I had to cross the Nepisiguit River. In doing so, I noticed what looked like a 20 centimetre-long dried out pine tree needle or some other plant twig of some type floating by. I just had to get a closer inspection. With the help of a nearby stick, I picked it up to for a better visual. Surprisingly, it started to wriggle. I laid it on a rock for a photo since I had never seen this before. After doing an Internet search, horsehair worm is what I found it likely to be. – Glen Vienneau, BathurstThis is indeed a horsehair worm. Gordian worm is another name for them, from their habit as aquatic adults of quite literally tying themselves in knots. There are probably several species in NB but the group has received no attention in the Maritimes. Although referred to as “worms” these organisms are not closely related to the earthworms that most of us are familiar with. Although free-living and aquatic in the adult stages, the larvae are parasitic in various insects, especially grasshoppers. The larvae live in the body cavity of the insect, emerging once the insect approaches or enters the water. The parasite is able to influence the hosts behaviour and in some cases insects may drown themselves, ensuring the parasite the conditions necessary for emergence (if this is starting to sound like an Aliens movie, you are not far off. Script writers could not possibly come up with anything more bizarre than the real thing!). The sexes are separate. Horsehair worms are not uncommon in NB, and can often be found in woodland ditches and puddles, even occasionally in swimming pools. – Don McAlpine