Wiggly Towers

Microscopic nematode worms are capable of a miraculous feat: Living worm towers. 

The squiggly organisms cooperate with each other to form these towering structures to escape tough situations or food scarcity, a new study has found. 

Researchers in Germany recently captured the first-ever footage of these writhing worm structures in the wild. Using a digital microscope, they discovered nematode towers sprouting from decaying apples and pears in orchards near the University of Konstanz. 

“I was ecstatic when I saw these natural towers for the first time,” the study’s senior author, Serena Ding, said in a statement, adding that this behavior has long been observed in labs but never documented in nature. “For so long, natural worm towers existed only in our imaginations. But with the right equipment and lots of curiosity, we found them hiding in plain sight.” 

Despite their wiggly appearance, the team noted that the towers were not “just a pile of worms,” but more of “a superorganism in motion.” 

Inside them, only one nematode species was present and only in the “dauer” stage, a tough, larval form suited for survival and dispersal. These dauer towers acted similarly to living antennae, swaying together in unison, responding to touch, and even launching themselves onto passing fruit flies to hitch a ride to more habitable environments.  

“The towers are actively sensing and growing,” explained the study’s first author, Daniela Perez. “When we touched them, they responded immediately, growing toward the stimulus and attaching to it.”  

Back in the lab, the researchers recreated the phenomenon using Caenorhabditis elegans, a widely studied nematode species. Within two hours, hungry worms climbed a toothbrush bristle and assembled themselves into towers that were stable for more than 12 hours.  

Some even stretched out exploratory “arms” and bridged gaps to new surfaces. 

Yet despite their architectural flair, the worms seemed to operate without hierarchies: Individuals from both the base and the tip were equally strong and fertile.  

The researchers hope that the findings can provide some answers to how group behavior in animals evolves, such as in insect swarms or birds migrating together. 

“Our study opens up a whole new system for exploring how and why animals move together,” Ding suggested. “By harnessing the genetic tools available for C. elegans, we now have a powerful model to study the ecology and evolution of collective dispersal.”