Potato Bug
When Fear Factor aired the episode with the Potato Bugs you received a question asking if these were the same as Sand Puppies. In southwest Wyoming we have bugs that look just like the Potato Bugs that we call Sand Puppies. These Sand Puppies here have a Parasite that looks like a thin worm that lives in them. If you put the Sand Puppy in water, say to kill it, then this Parasite comes out! You didn’t answer the question about them being the same bug. If they are then I find it even more disgusting that Fear Factor would let someone eat this Parasite without mentioning it! Unless this is something that only happens to our Potato Bug/Sand Puppies. I sure hope you can figure this out!
Tim Doak
Hi Tim,
We just received a new letter asking about Sand Puppies which we now believe might be Solpugids which also are called Sun Spiders or Wind Scorpions, or in the Middle East, Camel Spiders. I know nothing about the parasite you mention, but most animals on the planet fall prey to some type of parasite, and most parasites are very host specific.
The parasite you refer to is known as a Horse Hair Worm. Grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts are thenmost common host of the worm.
Thanks for providing this comment on a very old posting. We have since made numerous postings of Horsehair Worms or Gordian Worms.