“I’m in need of your assistance with the identification of the suspected worm in the short, attached video,” writes Helena in her submission regarding the super thin, black, worm-like creature pictured below. “More information will gladly be provided if needed, and upon your request. Your help is greatly appreciated! As the video shows, it was on me. I’m not suggesting it came from me. When I removed it, the worm had fallen to the floor and I couldn’t locate it to take any other photo or video of it. I’d just never seen anything like it and thought you might be able to identify it as such. If so I’d greatly appreciate your knowledge of what type of worm it could be or who might know, if not yourselves.”
We have actually seen worms like this plenty of other times, always from our readers who submit pictures or videos like the one Helena sent in. Unfortunately, this is not the great news that it sounds like it would be. In all of those cases, all we have been able to do is suggest that they are either horsehair worms or not worms at all, though we have never confidently identified these worms. The thing is, horsehair worms are long and thin, and resemble horse hair: it is in the name after all. But likewise, as their name suggests, they are still thicker than human hair. You can even see that their bodies are tubular. The worm Helena captured on video looks like it is only slightly thicker than the width of a human hair, and you cannot really see the curve of its body.
With that said, since the closest worm we can find is a horsehair worm, we might as well provide some information on it, in the case that this truly is one. It is not entirely impossible: it could be a species of horsehair worm that is thinner. Horsehair worms, in our opinion, are some of the most misunderstood worms today. They have a reputation as parasitic worms that will plague and destroy your body. Only half of this is true. They are parasites, but they do not infect humans. In fact, they are unable to infect any vertebrate. They only infect insects, as well as some crustaceans. Any reports of human infection are not a true infection: they are cases in which people have ingested an infected insect, thereby releasing the worm inside their body, which they either cough up or excrete. And any symptoms experienced are just those that accompany having a foreign organism inside one’s body (eg: discomfort in one’s intestines). Typically, we would recommend just scooping the worm onto a dustpan and moving it outside, but since Helena cannot find the worm, we recommend vacuuming her home, even if it means killing the worm (something we do not often suggest). We recommend this since we are not entirely certain what this worm is, so we cannot promise that it is a horsehair worm, or that it is harmless.
To conclude, the closest worm that this creature resembles is a horsehair worm, though we ask that Helena not trust in this identification completely. It is simply too difficult to identify worms like this with the naked eye. Since their bodies are so thin, you cannot make out any identifying characteristics other than their shape and color. We hope nonetheless that something in this article proves helpful or informative, and wish Helena the very best.
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