Moalem's Survival Of The Sickest Practice Test

What behavioral manipulation does the hairworm induce in the grasshopper?

It causes the grasshopper to drown itself It makes the grasshopper jump into water to escape It makes the grasshopper shed its skin It makes the grasshopper feed on the worm

Correct Answer:

It causes the grasshopper to drown itself

Explanation:

The key idea is that the hairworm hijacks the grasshopper’s behavior to reach a water environment, which the parasite needs to complete its life cycle. When the worm is ready to emerge, it alters the host’s neural signals so the grasshopper is driven to seek out water and often leap into it. Entering the water is the crucial manipulated behavior, and drowning is a common outcome of that action, allowing the worm to exit and continue developing. So the real manipulation is steering the host toward water; the drowning result occurs because of that driven behavior. It’s not about the grasshopper shedding skin or feeding on the worm.

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