The so-called kamikaze horsehair worm (Paragordius tricuspidatus) has a similarly ingenious life story. First, the tiny larva is eaten by the larva of another insect, such as a mosquito or mayfly: once this emerges, a cricket will gobble it up. The horsehair worm then develops inside the cricket. However, its final stage of development needs to take place in water. Since crickets don’t swim, and don’t tend to live near water, the worm has a problem. It solves this by hijacking the cricket’s nervous system, impelling it to jump – against its nature – into water. Once the cricket drowns, the
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