When most individuals consider worms, they image one thing innocent wriggling round within the backyard. However not all worms are so harmless.
Some are downright terrifying, and some would possibly even make you sleep with the lights on. Right here’s an inventory of the creepiest, most annoying worms on the market. You’ve been warned.
1. Bobbit worm
This one feels prefer it escaped a horror film. The bobbit worm hides beneath the sand in heat oceans, ready in silence. When a fish swims by, bam!, it strikes with lightning-fast jaws, generally slicing prey clear in half. Oh, and it will probably develop over 3 metres lengthy. Sleep tight.
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2. Velvet worms
Velvet worms look form of cute till you see them hunt. They shoot out sticky jets of slime from tubes on their heads to entice their prey, then slowly transfer in for the kill. Creepy, proper? They’ve been round since earlier than the dinosaurs, which someway makes them much more unsettling.
3. Zombie snail parasite (Leucochloridium paradoxum)
This one is simply plain bizarre. It infects snails and crawls into their eye stalks, making them pulse and twitch like psychedelic caterpillars. Birds mistake them for snacks and eat the snail, spreading the parasite. Sure, it principally turns the snail right into a zombie puppet.
4. Guinea worm
That is nightmare gasoline. The guinea worm begins small, however grows inside your physique for a few yr earlier than painfully crawling out via your pores and skin. Individuals have described the feeling as burning scorching, like a thread of fireside attempting to flee. It was once widespread, however due to international efforts, it’s nearly gone now.
5. African eye worm (Loa Loa)
what’s worse than one thing crawling below your pores and skin? One thing crawling throughout your eyeball. The Loa Loa worm lives below the pores and skin and infrequently strikes to the floor of the attention, seen, alive, and really a lot squirming. It’s uncommon, however actual.
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The Loa Loa worm lives below the pores and skin and infrequently strikes to the floor of the attention (Supply: Wikimedia Commons)
6. Large Gippsland earthworm
Whereas not harmful, these earthworms from Australia can develop as much as 9 toes lengthy. Think about digging in your yard and uncovering a worm so long as a kayak. They even make gurgling noises underground. Creepy? Positively.
7. Ascaris lumbricoides (Large intestinal roundworm)
This worm lives in your intestine, usually with none apparent signs. However in case you’ve received a foul case, you would possibly see one in your stool, and even really feel it shifting throughout an ultrasound. They’re surprisingly widespread and might develop over a foot lengthy inside you. Gross.
8. Hookworms
Small however brutal. These worms latch onto your intestines and feed in your blood. Over time, they’ll trigger critical anemia and fatigue. They often enter via your toes when strolling barefoot in contaminated soil. Sneaky little monsters.
9. Whipworm
These stay in your giant gut and might trigger every part from bloody diarrhea to extreme malnutrition. Youngsters are most in danger in locations with poor sanitation, and heavy infections can significantly stunt progress and improvement. They could be as skinny as threads, however they do quite a lot of harm.
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10. Anisakis
For those who like sushi or uncooked fish, hear up. This parasite hides in seafood and might burrow into your abdomen wall, inflicting sharp ache and nausea. In some circumstances, individuals have had allergic reactions too. Cooking fish correctly kills it, however uncooked lovers beware.
11. Rat Lungworm
This one’s a rising menace in tropical areas. Individuals can get contaminated by consuming uncooked or undercooked snails or different critters that carry the parasite. As soon as inside, it will probably have an effect on your mind and spinal twine, resulting in meningitis-like signs. Not precisely what you count on from a salad.
