Horsehair what?

I mentioned in my previous Far North Friday post (Dec 3/21) that I am not a fan of leeches. I also mentioned there is a second inhabitant I saw in a northern lake that caught me off-guard.

I recall vividly the first time that I saw a long (20-30 cm; 8-12 inches), very skinny (<1mm in diameter) hair-like creature in the water of a far north lake. I had no idea what it was. My first reaction was “what is that horsehair doing in the lake? Why is it wiggling?” There were no horses in the fly-in camp area. It was a classic Boreal forest. The lake was little more than a beaver pond, filled with dark water, having a lake bottom that looked like black gyttja or mud.

I watched the hair closely. It was moving through the water with an awkward swimming style. It looked like a snake that was as thin as a sewing needle. It was amber in colour. It disappeared in the dark waters and I never saw one again for many years. What was that? Clearly it was alive, but it was not a leech.

The presence of leeches in the lake was more than enough to convince me that I would not bathe in that lake. But leeches PLUS this animated hair animal was over the top. The bucket shower would be my choice, and only after careful examination of the bucket water to ensure no aliens lay hidden in the water.

My imagination ramped up. I imagined that hair animal would find its way into my body through one of my many body orifices, where it would have its way with my insides. I paused and counted. In my head alone, I had seven possible orifices beckoning an entry to my soul. As for the rest of my body, I stopped counting. For the record, in case you are counting orifices on your body, you can stop. I was sporting so many potential entry holes that it would be certain “death” if I entered the water - or so I reasoned. After all, it was early June and the blackflies were fierce. My skin was adorned with hundreds - no, thousands - of tiny holes created by foraging blackflies. Every area of flesh that had been exposed during the work day was covered by blackfly bites. Every blackfly bite represented an entry orifice - or so I reasoned. All my imagination could see was my arm covered with waving strings of these golden hair animals as they disappeared beneath my skin - or so I reasoned.

Flash forward to 2021. The next hair animal I saw was in a video was shared with me by Sid O’kees (Eabametoong First Nation, Ontario). The hair animal was seen in Eabamet Lake, in the homeland of Eabametoong First Nation, 370 km (230 miles) north of Thunder Bay. Dave Rudkin also posted some photos on his Facebook page of this alien he saw in his southern Ontario backyard. Looking at those images still give me the “heebie-jeebies”.

What is it? It is called Horsehair Worm (Nematomorpha; pronounced: knee mah toe more fah). It is also known informally as a Gordian worm because it seems to tie itself into a knot (like my stomach when I see one). Patricia Ningewance graciously informed me that it is called Wiinizisimaa-zagaskway in Lac Seul Ojibway dialect. The adult lives in water or moist habitats. The larvae are parasites that develop inside the bodies of arthropods, like grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, and some beetles. If interested in their life cycle, presented in a humorous way, read here: https://www.wired.com/.../05/absurd-creature-horsehair-worm/

The literature says they are not parasites of humans, livestock, or pets and pose no public health threat. But, when seen for the first time, in a remote far north lake, with a heightened imagination, there is no way I want to become that 1 in 1 million exception, despite what the literature says LOL.

Horsehair imagination? Yup.

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Original posted on Facebook: Dec. 10, 2021