Is there life after parasitism? Survival, longevity, and oogenesis in Acheta domesticus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) infected with the hairworm, Paragordius varius (Phylum: Nematomorpha)

Farmed cricket (Acheta domesticus, Gryllus assimilis, and Gryllodes sigillatus; Orthoptera) welfare considerations: recommendations for improving global practice

“…and A. domesticus. P. varius has a freshwater, free-living adult stage; development occurs inside the body cavity of the definitive cricket host, where the hairworms consume host resources and reduce host growth (Anaya and Bolek, 2021), thus, representing a threat to welfare. The adult hairworm then manipulates its host to search for shallow water, allowing them to break through the cricket's body wall and enter the water to complete their life cycle; this often results in the death of the cricket via drowning (Poinar and Weissman, 2004).…”

“…Infected crickets can survive releasing their hairworms, however their longevity is reduced compared to controls (73 vs 86 days). Furthermore, only 50% of infected female crickets that survived were able to produce eggs compared to control crickets (Anaya and Bolek, 2021). Other hairworms can also attack crickets.…”