Predation on Horsehair Worms (Phylum Nematomorpha)

ABSTRACT Field observations revealed cases of predation on horsehair worms by brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Maryland and Minnesota, a rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) in Kentucky, and a crayfish in Wisconsin. Some fish contained more than one worm and may have consumed reproductive aggregations. In laboratory feeding trials with Gordius robustus, most individuals of several fish species either ignored the horsehair worms or rejected them after taking them into their mouths briefly, but a green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) consumed both individual worms and a compact ball of 18 worms. A literature review yielded cases of predation on horsehair worms by at least 12 fish species. Horsehair worms usually were only a trace component of the diet, but some individual fish had eaten multiple worms.