Dating appOne tongue-eating louse, Cymothoa exigua, was described in our Halloween comic: Free-swimming, juvenile Cymothoa exigua males attach to...
Apicomplexan FireworksToxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite that infects animals. Cyst forms wait in the muscle tissue of intermediate hosts to be...
The Zombie AntThe lancet liver fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriticum, has a three-host lifecycle. Eggs in feces hatch and infect a snail. There, the larvae...
HalloweenEggs of Leucochloridium paradoxum present in bird droppings hatch and penetrate through the skin of a succineid snail (Succinea spp.,...
A New UnderstandingSacculina carcini parsitizes crabs, mostly the green crab Carcinus maenas (1). It is most commonly found in Europe, but has also been...
Valentine's DayDiplozoon paradoxum is a flatworm parasite of fish. Eggs hatch and pass through larval stages where they swim to try to find a fish host....
Back to LifeOphiocordyceps sinensis, or caterpillar fungus, is a parasitic fungus that infects caterpillars of ghost moths. Permissive hosts include...
The EyelashesPhrixocephalus cincinnatus begin their life as free-swimming larvae (called a nauplii) (1). After developing to their next larval stage...
The White SpikesCotesia congregata is a parasitoid wasp found throughout North America and South America (1). The wasps parasitize caterpillars of sphinx...
The Red BerryMyrmeconema neotropicum is a nematode parasite that infects ants. The eggs can also use birds for transportation (a paratenic host). Eggs...