They're found nearly everywhere, from the frozen Antarctic to the dinner table.
Good soil can provide a home for a billion nematodes per acre.
They cause some famous diseases, including elephantiasis and trichinosis, a sickness that comes from eating undercooked pork. Nematode larvae form cysts in the muscle tissue of pigs and other animals, and, if they survive cooking, can be let loose in the intestines of diners, free to burrow into the intestinal muscles and produce more larvae. Altogether an unpleasant group of species, but true masters of survival, unlikely to appear on the endangered list anytime soon. P.O. Box 11626, Santa Ana, CA 92711.