01 n. A genus of long, slender, nematoid worms, parasitic in insects until near maturity, when they leave the insect, and live in water, in which…
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A genus of long, slender, nematoid worms, parasitic in insects until near maturity, when they leave the insect, and live in water, in which they deposit their eggs; -- called also hair eel, hairworm, and hair snake, from the absurd, but common and widely diffused, notion that they are metamorphosed horsehairs.(Zool.) Also: hair eel, hairworm, hair snake