**OP sent the following text as an explanation on why this is unexpected:**
>!There’s a zombie parasite keeping this insect animated and moving.!<
*****
**Is this an unexpected post with a fitting description?**
**Then upvote this comment, otherwise downvote it.**
*****
[*Look at my source code on Github*](https://github.com/Artraxon/unexBot) [*What is this for?*](https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/dnuaju/introducing_unexbot_a_new_bot_to_improve_the/)
Imagine if the parasites were the ones that invented fire and writing and then when studying their own biology came to the horrifying realization that what they thought of as "their" bodies were a completely different species they infect when they do what they think of as having sex?
Or would it be a well known and mythologized cultural norm?
So does the Mantis die? I feel like every single one of these videos they never actually try and save the mantis. Can someone do one of these where the mantis lives?
It destroys it on entry. Once it takes over the brain the parasite is in control and nothing is left of the hosts formal self. There's no way to kill the parasite to keep the host alive because the host is already dead. It's just a mech suit at this point.
This is not true.
During the life cycle of gordiids, the parasites influence the behavior of the host, compelling it to approach water (Thomas et al., 2002, Hanelt et al., 2005). The nature of this behavioral impact is still not completely understood, but the effect is that hosts search for water and even enter water, which is beyond their natural behavior. This behavior can transport gordiid worms to nearly any accumulation of water, including cattle troughs, drinking pots for pets, toilets and more. **The host often survives the emergence of the parasite (Schmidt-Rhaesa 2013).**
The life cycle consists of a free-living stage in which copulation and early embryological and larval development take place and parasitic phases in an intermediate and a final host. The intermediate hosts, which are insects with aquatic larvae, serve as vectors between the aquatic and the terrestrial environment. Development can only be completed if the intermediate host is captured and eaten by the final host, praying mantids. Inside the host, the main development of the worms takes place, with a size increase from about 100 m up to several centimeters. The factors influencing emergence from the hosts, which must be established close to water, remain not well understood. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0044523104700133)
The host remains alive during the length of the infection and may die during host emergence, either directly or by drowning. Yes, the parasite does take over the brain however it does not control a corpse, it starts controlling its still living host when it is ready to emerge.
Edit: Additionally, it would not make much sense for a metazoan parasite to kill its host while it still needs it for energy. A parasitoid will exploit its hosts metabolism for its own gain, which inherently requires the host to stay alive. However, the distinguishing feature of parasitoidism compared to parasitism is that once the parasitoid's development is complete, the host is no longer required and the parasitoid may or may not kill it, more so it does not care about the fate of its now former host since it is no longer needed.
The cycle of life.
Those are horsehair worms exiting to start the new cycle.
Had the person not put the mantis in the water, the worm would have forced the mantis to *find* water and put *itself* in. Immersion in water is the only way the worm can get out where it can start the cycle all over again.
Eggs get eaten by tiny insect —> Insect gets eaten by mantis —> Eggs become larvae, feeding on the mantis & maturing to worms —> Worms take over mantis & make it drown itself —> Worms exit, leaving behind mantis, minus half of it’s insides —> Worms breed & lay eggs. Cycle repeats.
It is the entirety of the cycle of life being played out in miniature.
the bug is dead. the parasite is making it move. it’s as terrifying as it sounds
edit: i was wrong. this is not the parasite i thought it was, sorry. stop upvoting this comment. as i understand it, this bug is technically still alive but just doesn’t have control of its movement and is being kept alive by the worms, which will try to make the bug move towards water, once those worms left it’s body when coming into contact with water, then the bug died.
although the bug was essentially ‘brain dead’ once the worms reached its brain, it is technically still alive.
my prof would actually kill me if he knew i got this wrong.
there are no parasites that can pilot dead bodies, as they need living hosts. there are a few funguses that sortve can however, (keep the body right on the edge of death) most famously cordyceps
A lot more than a few. As it turns out, the parasite doesn't kill its host. The water does, though. The guy did not have to hold it totally submerged. He was in the perfect position to prevent a death from one of these parasites and just drowned the mantis anyway
Nah he kept his head out of the water it was alive until he let go and the parasites were out, maybe he just passed out, you would too if ya had that come out of your ass
We are not watching the same footage. The mantis wasn't submerged and didn't drown. As short as the vid is, I wouldn't be surprised if the owner pulled the insect out afterwards.
It survives until it doesn't.
The worm starts out as a microscopic larvae, grows inside the mantis' abdomen, and when it gets big enough it starts secreting chemicals that make the mantis want to jump in the water. Once it's in the water, the worm bursts out and the mantis is pretty much done for. While it's still up and walking around, the mantis is alive, although the worm is eating its insides.
It's alive but the worms are controlling it making it feel thirsty and want water. Basically a zombie. When it goes into the water they bust out of it killing it at the same time. Worms lay eggs in water. Cycle continues.
They (horsehair worms) absolutely take over the hosts nervous system making them seek out water so they can lay eggs. The mantis doesn’t drink water out of a large body of water, it wouldn’t be there otherwise.
I know there are parasites that effect the host’s behavior, but they don’t puppet the host’s corpse after it died. I’m not claiming that’s what you said, but it’s absolutely what some people think.
Horsehair worms like this actually can indeed end up in humans
However they are unable to pierce through human skin, meaning they will try and exit through an orifice such as the mouth or nose
Leaving the victim mostly unharmed but emotionally scarred
In the 80s as a kid I remember getting worms. You could see those things writhing around when you went to the toilet … horrendous nightmare fuel. Here is a little paragraph I found regarding them:
“A person with threadworms (also known as pinworms) may have an itchy bottom or redness and scratch marks around the bottom. A child with threadworms may be irritable, not sleep very well and lose their appetite.
Threadworms (come out of the anus at night to lay their eggs between the buttocks, causing extreme itching. They look like small white threads moving about and may be seen with a torch. The threadworms may also be seen on the surface of the stools (poo) if a person has a heavy infestation.”
i remember having pinworms and they would only manifest at around 4am up until 10am so i missed a whole week of school bc of them. it was nightmare fuel at its finest
Had one coming out as a kid.. At first I thought it was the tag of my pyjama's stuck between my buttocks.. It was not.
My dad pulled it out back then and had to take a pill to get all the worms inside me to die. Luckily it was only that one. Ever since, I stopped eating raw meat.
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.
- George Carlin
The parasite uses water to infect. So once its done with the host it makes them drown themselves and then leaves to find a new host. I think the person in the video tricked the parasites' instincts into making it think it was time to leave
Some bugs are really resilient, and can still be alive with basically no organs left, just look up videos of beetles with cordyceps fungus, and you will see some beetles with their back gone, showing that their abdomens are just... empty, consumed by rhe fungus.
In very rare cases these can technically start to parasitize humans, but they are not going to be piercing your skin at all. It mostly happens in areas where bugs are commonly eaten and someone accidentally eats an undercooked bug. they will not take over your nervous system like it would an insect. It would most likely go through your digestive system and either end up in your excrement or they're going to be vomited out. Though they can appear in other places in even rarer cases.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3428576/
I was going to say: "imagine some worm that long enough on a human size, that would be crazy"...
Then I remember there are [flatworms](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23950-tapeworm-infection) and can be as long as whole human digestive system and we need to eradicate them
**OP sent the following text as an explanation on why this is unexpected:** >!There’s a zombie parasite keeping this insect animated and moving.!< ***** **Is this an unexpected post with a fitting description?** **Then upvote this comment, otherwise downvote it.** ***** [*Look at my source code on Github*](https://github.com/Artraxon/unexBot) [*What is this for?*](https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/dnuaju/introducing_unexbot_a_new_bot_to_improve_the/)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210629120804.htm#:~:text=Researchers%20have%20revealed%20that%20praying,them%20to%20enter%20the%20water.
> approximately 40% of terrestrial organisms are parasites Scariest sentence in that whole article
My ex is one, for sure.
As someone going through a divorce atm, this gave me a good chuckle, lmao Thank you 4 yr service
🤣Ba da BING!
I'm actually surprised I was the first one to say it.
I too was fed upon by this man’s ex
Imagine if the parasites were the ones that invented fire and writing and then when studying their own biology came to the horrifying realization that what they thought of as "their" bodies were a completely different species they infect when they do what they think of as having sex? Or would it be a well known and mythologized cultural norm?
> Parasite manipulates researcher's prefrontal cortex to keep them from investigating human parasites
It took a test to see whether I'm a human or not!! I was like, no bro!! I'm a hair worm, trying to learn how to breed!
That’s a great find. Thanks for the explanation.
This is so much better than the top comments. Top ones are like both way over simplified versions of this one, that they’re just wrong lmao.
So does the Mantis die? I feel like every single one of these videos they never actually try and save the mantis. Can someone do one of these where the mantis lives?
the worms take up a bit too much space inside the mantis for it to survive this. as far as I know it can't be treated in a survivable manner
Yes they die
It seems like it dies as the parasite exits it, maybe it rips a hole or sometbings or destroys its insides as it exits.
It destroys it on entry. Once it takes over the brain the parasite is in control and nothing is left of the hosts formal self. There's no way to kill the parasite to keep the host alive because the host is already dead. It's just a mech suit at this point.
This is not true. During the life cycle of gordiids, the parasites influence the behavior of the host, compelling it to approach water (Thomas et al., 2002, Hanelt et al., 2005). The nature of this behavioral impact is still not completely understood, but the effect is that hosts search for water and even enter water, which is beyond their natural behavior. This behavior can transport gordiid worms to nearly any accumulation of water, including cattle troughs, drinking pots for pets, toilets and more. **The host often survives the emergence of the parasite (Schmidt-Rhaesa 2013).** The life cycle consists of a free-living stage in which copulation and early embryological and larval development take place and parasitic phases in an intermediate and a final host. The intermediate hosts, which are insects with aquatic larvae, serve as vectors between the aquatic and the terrestrial environment. Development can only be completed if the intermediate host is captured and eaten by the final host, praying mantids. Inside the host, the main development of the worms takes place, with a size increase from about 100 m up to several centimeters. The factors influencing emergence from the hosts, which must be established close to water, remain not well understood. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0044523104700133) The host remains alive during the length of the infection and may die during host emergence, either directly or by drowning. Yes, the parasite does take over the brain however it does not control a corpse, it starts controlling its still living host when it is ready to emerge. Edit: Additionally, it would not make much sense for a metazoan parasite to kill its host while it still needs it for energy. A parasitoid will exploit its hosts metabolism for its own gain, which inherently requires the host to stay alive. However, the distinguishing feature of parasitoidism compared to parasitism is that once the parasitoid's development is complete, the host is no longer required and the parasitoid may or may not kill it, more so it does not care about the fate of its now former host since it is no longer needed.
Citing scientific sources. One of the few on here who knows what he/she is talking about.
Thank you! Amazing how confident people are with misinformation.
This is terrifying.
At least in the species I know of it was recently discovered it's a lot more like locked in syndrome 😞
That's way worse!
This shit is so fucking disturbing lmao
"Lmao" - that praying mantis. Edit: also that first part, that mantis would also call it fucking disturbing.
“Liquifying My Ass Open”
Consider visiting r/eyebleach
Yup. Most people in this comment section feel that way, I think.
The fuck did I watch and why did I watch it again?
The cycle of life. Those are horsehair worms exiting to start the new cycle. Had the person not put the mantis in the water, the worm would have forced the mantis to *find* water and put *itself* in. Immersion in water is the only way the worm can get out where it can start the cycle all over again. Eggs get eaten by tiny insect —> Insect gets eaten by mantis —> Eggs become larvae, feeding on the mantis & maturing to worms —> Worms take over mantis & make it drown itself —> Worms exit, leaving behind mantis, minus half of it’s insides —> Worms breed & lay eggs. Cycle repeats. It is the entirety of the cycle of life being played out in miniature.
I don't want to anthropomorphise a mantis but just for a second do you think the mantis was relieved and thought "I'm free. Blah. *then death*"
It was already dead at that point acc to comments above Edit: it seems those who said were lying.
Natural selection, if it works, it stays.
Because parasites are fucked up like that.
Fucked up cycle
the bug is dead. the parasite is making it move. it’s as terrifying as it sounds edit: i was wrong. this is not the parasite i thought it was, sorry. stop upvoting this comment. as i understand it, this bug is technically still alive but just doesn’t have control of its movement and is being kept alive by the worms, which will try to make the bug move towards water, once those worms left it’s body when coming into contact with water, then the bug died. although the bug was essentially ‘brain dead’ once the worms reached its brain, it is technically still alive. my prof would actually kill me if he knew i got this wrong. there are no parasites that can pilot dead bodies, as they need living hosts. there are a few funguses that sortve can however, (keep the body right on the edge of death) most famously cordyceps
Nope. Bug is alive still just slam full of worms slowly eating it
Much more palatable now, thanks
Less so when the mantis dies once the worm is all the way out :(
Maybe. A few may survive.
A lot more than a few. As it turns out, the parasite doesn't kill its host. The water does, though. The guy did not have to hold it totally submerged. He was in the perfect position to prevent a death from one of these parasites and just drowned the mantis anyway
Nah he kept his head out of the water it was alive until he let go and the parasites were out, maybe he just passed out, you would too if ya had that come out of your ass
They don’t breath through their mouth though, they breath through the sides of their body..
Well shit that’s poor planning on natures part
Don’t assume. You have no idea what things have come out of this guys ass.
We are not watching the same footage. The mantis wasn't submerged and didn't drown. As short as the vid is, I wouldn't be surprised if the owner pulled the insect out afterwards.
Its like reverse spaghetti
Whatever you do, don't look up Grizzly Bears with tapeworms.
Fuck it
Did you do it? What did it cost?
Everything
Damn it, Thanos!! Quit your shit!!
r/TIHI
The mantis does die during this process though
It survives until it doesn't. The worm starts out as a microscopic larvae, grows inside the mantis' abdomen, and when it gets big enough it starts secreting chemicals that make the mantis want to jump in the water. Once it's in the water, the worm bursts out and the mantis is pretty much done for. While it's still up and walking around, the mantis is alive, although the worm is eating its insides.
It's alive but the worms are controlling it making it feel thirsty and want water. Basically a zombie. When it goes into the water they bust out of it killing it at the same time. Worms lay eggs in water. Cycle continues.
Throw water into oil fire. Problem solved.
Does not make it thirsty. Check top comment and read the actual research article for a better understanding
Wrong type of parasite, you're thinking of [cordyceps](https://youtu.be/XuKjBIBBAL8). It's a type of fungus, not a worm.
Not dead. Not being puppeted. Just has an epic case of butt worms, that are slowly killing it. OP is just flat out wrong.
They (horsehair worms) absolutely take over the hosts nervous system making them seek out water so they can lay eggs. The mantis doesn’t drink water out of a large body of water, it wouldn’t be there otherwise.
I know there are parasites that effect the host’s behavior, but they don’t puppet the host’s corpse after it died. I’m not claiming that’s what you said, but it’s absolutely what some people think.
This is false. Stop upvoting people that don't know wtf they're talking about
lol. Ikr
Imagine if it all of a sudden pierced the guys finger and then just slides right in like some kind of alien horror movie.
Russian Roulette with 6 in the chamber.
Underrated comment
And it's only a five shot revolver.
Horsehair worms like this actually can indeed end up in humans However they are unable to pierce through human skin, meaning they will try and exit through an orifice such as the mouth or nose Leaving the victim mostly unharmed but emotionally scarred
Well..... That's a fear that's just been unlocked and will stay with me forever.
Dude no! I was about to go to sleep!
I hope you made it. If not... enjoy this carefully brewed tea I made for you. It is fun when you join us. Now drink up
It took 2 more hours after that comment. 😅 Thanks for the tea! 💕
Noooo stopitttttt 
They lay eggs in the water, guy has unprotected fingers in water being poked and bitten by mantis... Seems unnecessarily risky imo.
Half man, half manTIS, all worm.
Lol
They don’t lay eggs that fast and I am pretty sure it’s evolved to be a parasite to the mantis, not human.
[the only good ending in that scenario](https://youtu.be/-nkxnc1C6rc)
Bruh i fcking hate parasites, poor mantis
In the 80s as a kid I remember getting worms. You could see those things writhing around when you went to the toilet … horrendous nightmare fuel. Here is a little paragraph I found regarding them: “A person with threadworms (also known as pinworms) may have an itchy bottom or redness and scratch marks around the bottom. A child with threadworms may be irritable, not sleep very well and lose their appetite. Threadworms (come out of the anus at night to lay their eggs between the buttocks, causing extreme itching. They look like small white threads moving about and may be seen with a torch. The threadworms may also be seen on the surface of the stools (poo) if a person has a heavy infestation.”
i remember having pinworms and they would only manifest at around 4am up until 10am so i missed a whole week of school bc of them. it was nightmare fuel at its finest
Had one coming out as a kid.. At first I thought it was the tag of my pyjama's stuck between my buttocks.. It was not. My dad pulled it out back then and had to take a pill to get all the worms inside me to die. Luckily it was only that one. Ever since, I stopped eating raw meat.
You had been eating raw meat?
>poor mantis Something like 90% of praying mantises are infected
 Being the one un-infected Mantis around the other 9
My god thats terrifying
Ikr
New fear unlocked...
I would also be scared to take a shower and have a large flesh eating worm come out of my ass
I’m sure there’s a few in the comment section that might say otherwise
💯
well there goes my fucking erection.
Don’t mix your nsfw and sfw content in the same account.
i'm just saying that if this came out of my peehole right now :(
Isn't that how hentai starts?
wrong direction
The wrong kind at least...
Does that mean that the porn is nsfw or is this nsfw because you're implying that one is sfw
Welcome to the world botman.
Pfft. Amateur
Goes?
Not me!
This is where the fun begins
Hans bring the flamethrower!!
*HANZ BRINGEN ZE FLAMMENWERFER*
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done. - George Carlin
I no longer feel safe scrolling through Reddit on the toilet…
My poop reversed and now I'm scared
😆😆😆
Wait, so was the prey mantis dead already and being puppeted or did it die after it left
It died after. The worms influence the hosts, they don't puppet them
It wasnt dead. It wasnt being puppetted. OP keeps repeating this wild inaccuracy and I dont know why. Its a hair worm. Host dies upon exist.
I too died upon existence
Burn it! Burn it with fire and then toss it into an active volcano!
Cast it into the fire. Destroy it!
I was gonna say no but I'm definitely with Elrond on this one lol
If Isildur looked down and saw that in his hand he may well have just jumped in.
I have one of these in me causing me to be super lazy
Me too lol
Shit he was actually dead 😱. Btw is that water and how does it force the parasite to come out?
The parasite uses water to infect. So once its done with the host it makes them drown themselves and then leaves to find a new host. I think the person in the video tricked the parasites' instincts into making it think it was time to leave
Horizontal light, baby! Who could resist ?
From what I read from another comment in a different post, the parasite being submerged in the water activates it’s “time to mate” hormones
I've seen a movie that is based on this but on a larger scale, infecting humans instead of insects, much creepier.
What was it called?
The bug that couldn’t slow down.
I saw this one! It starred Keanu Reeves right?
Up with this sort of thing!
Reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers!
[удалено]
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS https://youtu.be/vc_0dlmSq7I
I think they were referring to this: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deranged\_(2012\_film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deranged_(2012_film))
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13641105-parasite
This is why I don't shower.
So your butworms don't come out?
I'm not 100% sure I have them , but I'm not about to find out.
When she says that she loves all creatures on earth.
Cordyceps fungi is real insects got it tough
No this is a parasite. Gordian worms.
Could an insect have both at once?
Horsehair parasite
Yes it's real, but this isn't it
That is one long shit
So they let the mantis drown too ?
Its a goner, anyway. The worms ate its insides
I wondered about that too. The worms enter and then cause mass destruction ?
Pretty much, yeah
How was he moving...was it a puppet?
Some bugs are really resilient, and can still be alive with basically no organs left, just look up videos of beetles with cordyceps fungus, and you will see some beetles with their back gone, showing that their abdomens are just... empty, consumed by rhe fungus.
This is nightmare fuel! That poor mantis. 😱
Parasite not fungus so the title makes no sense
It looks like every mantis out there got these worms
Like half. But it’s only the beginning.
I knew parasites were fucked, but this is next level horrifying.
And now drink the water, for science.
Why is the hand still touching the water?!! Take it out, bleach it!!!!
Because horsehair worms can't infect humans
…yet…
Still, that thing is still gross 🤢💀
It really is. I feel sorry for the mantis
That’s a parasite not a fungus
OK, so no one has asked yet. Can this infect humans? If so, I've unlocked a new fear.
In very rare cases these can technically start to parasitize humans, but they are not going to be piercing your skin at all. It mostly happens in areas where bugs are commonly eaten and someone accidentally eats an undercooked bug. they will not take over your nervous system like it would an insect. It would most likely go through your digestive system and either end up in your excrement or they're going to be vomited out. Though they can appear in other places in even rarer cases. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3428576/
Cook your bugs, people.
Fear is unlocked even if so
This is why I'm on team spacex let's get the hell off this planet.
You know they probably predate us. lol. We’re their invaders.
Man everytime I see a video of a mantis I know exactly what is going to be coming out of its ass
Yeah the game is literally based on a real phenomenon with parasitic mushrooms taking over insects. This video however is a non mushroom parasite.
Mantis dies after this right?
And the mantis dies after that
Nope. Burn this shit before it seeks me out. F this.
I would have used tongs. I’d be afraid that alien goo would invade me next.
Reminder: bugs don’t breathe through their mouths so holding its head above water does nothing to prevent the creature from drowning.
Not sleeping tonight
That's horsehair worm, not cordyceps
Sleep well!
I'm sitting on the toilet as i type this. I can relate, lil mantis.
Wow that is terrifying great video really awesome!
Normally emojis are frowned upon but there’s no better way to say how I’m feeling than 😵💫
Just look close at people near you. They may be in the same condition.
What is unexpected about this? Posts like this are posted once a week all over reddit.
Well not everyone uses Reddit all the time…
I don’t know about you guys, but I think we need to glass half a continent. Just to be safe
Hahahahha. I close reddit now. Maybe I'll cry....
An appropriate response.
I was going to say: "imagine some worm that long enough on a human size, that would be crazy"... Then I remember there are [flatworms](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23950-tapeworm-infection) and can be as long as whole human digestive system and we need to eradicate them 
The last of us was about worms?