The worm relies on static electricity and wind to catch its prey.

A worm that hunts its prey with electricity 

Scientists discover a worm that hunts its prey with electricity.

Biologists have discovered a worm that uses electricity to hunt, bypassing the laws of physics, risking its life every time. 

American researchers have found that the tiny parasitic worm Steinernema carpocapsae uses static electricity to physically stick to its prey. This is the first direct experimental evidence that parasites can harness the electrical charge carried by their victims as a weapon—or rather, as an "adhesive."

A jump 25 times its own body length.

This nematode worm lives in the soil and feeds on insects. It is capable of jumping up to 25 times its body length, first coiling into a loop and then suddenly unfolding. The jump takes only fractions of a second, but it determines the worm's fate: if it attaches to the insect, it releases bacteria that kills the prey within two days, turning the corpse into a food source and a breeding ground. If it fails to attach, it starves to death.

How the Hypothesis Was Tested

Researchers from Emory University and the University of California, Berkeley, conducted an experiment to measure the effect of static electricity. They attached a fruit fly to a wire connected to a high-voltage source and filmed the worms' jumps using a high-speed microscope.

 The results showed that the electric field caused the fly's body to acquire a positive charge, while the worm's body acquired a negative charge. This created an attractive force that helped the worm reach its prey at the end of the jump—acting as if it were a magnet.

Without electricity, only one of the 19 worms successfully attached to its prey. But at a voltage of about 880 volts, the success rate increased to 80 percent, roughly the same rate observed in nature when insect wings generate charges as they brush against the air. 

The scientists also tested the effect of wind in a wind tunnel and found that the airflow helps the worm drift toward its prey, increasing its chances of being caught. Physicist Ran Jianshan Ran said, "Using physics, we have discovered something new and exciting about the adaptation strategies of these organisms. We are contributing to a new field known as electrostatic ecology." 

Thus, the scientists have shown for the first time that hunting success in the microscopic world depends not only on speed or poison, but also on the ability to harness the natural electric charge generated by insects themselves.