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Shoelace Worms in Lakes

Shoelace worms are long, slender worms that are called by a variety of names, including horsehair worms and cabbage-hair worms. They are also known as Gordian worms, after their genus name, and belong to the group Nematomorpha. Shoelace worms have confounded people, and their biology remained a mystery for many years. Today, much of the biology of shoelace worms and how they end up in their fresh water habitats is understood, though some aspects still remain a mystery.

Identification
- It is fairly simple to identify shoelace worms, as they tend to live in tangled clumps resembling something akin to horsehair. An individual shoelace worm can grow to over 14 inches long, though they only reach 1/25 inch to 1/16 inch in diameter. They are uniform in diameter throughout their length. These long, thin worms can be white, yellow or black.
Habitat
- Shoelace worms are always associated with fresh water. They appear in lakes, typically near shallow shores. However, they are also found in ponds, shallow dishes and even moist soil and in plants after a rain. While shoelace worms can be found individually, they are more often found in a tangled, knotty mass of several dozen individuals.
Life Cycle
- The shoelace worm starts out as a cyst inside a host's stomach. The typical host species of the shoelace worm include grasshoppers, cockroaches, katydids, crickets, dragonflies, caddisflies, centipedes, millipedes, spiders, beetles, crustaceans, leaches, snails, slugs and other invertebrates. While the host species are known, just how the shoelace worm infects it in the first place is uncertain. It is possible the organisms consume the cysts that are deposited on leaves and other food sources. Once the cyst is inside the host, it hatches and the worm begins to mature. It has a parasitic relationship to the host, feeding off its nutrients. The worm emerges from the host when either the host dies or it falls into water, such as a lake. It breaks out of the gut of the host, and if the host is not dead already, this will typically kill it. They form large, interlocking mats, especially during reproduction. Mature shoelace worms lay their eggs in long, gelatinous strings in fresh water, continuing the cycle.
Considerations
- Though shoelace worms are not the most attractive of animal species, they are harmless and pose no threat to humans or livestock. Their presence can actually be beneficial since they tend to shorten the lifespan of their hosts, often considered to be pests themselves. When shoelace worms are discovered in or around your home, there is no need to apply pesticides or take other control methods.

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