Schistosomes have a 2-host lifecycle: cercariae leave a snail host and penetrate definitive hosts including mammals and birds. Some avian schistosomes can also cause swimmer's itch when they accidentally penetrate into human skin and can not develop further! Greeting Cards Team: Dr. Chenhua Li (Lead, Ideas), Dr. Þórey Jónsdóttir (Illustrator, Ideas), Dr. Stephen Pollo (Writer, Researcher), Yuanzhe Wang (Digital Consultant).

Kia ora e te whānau! Ever seen a seabird with strange thread-like anklets? They might look like seaweed or trash… but they’re actually fish parasites—and they’re causing serious trouble for our manu. In this video, Dr. Jerusha Bennett at the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand) shares the story of Copiatestes, a trematode parasite with a complex life cycle that unexpectedly intersects with the lives of seabirds. From snails to krill to fish, Copiatestes follows a precis

Ticks, like the blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis , have a complex multi-host lifecycle. They must feed on blood at each stage of their...

Eggs of  Ancylostoma duodenale in stool develop into infective larvae in warm, moist soil. The larvae penetrate the skin of the bottom of...

The malaria-causing parasite, Plasmodium , has a complex two-host lifecycle. In both hosts, the parasite must use and migrate through...

Part Three: Untangling the Mystery of Red Gaster Ants By Dr. Kyle Lesack The ability of certain parasites to modify the appearance or...

Part Two: In a Fortuitous Turn of Events By Dr. Kyle Lesack Parasitism of Cephalotes atratus  by Myrmeconema neotropicum In a fortuitous...

Part One: Introduction to Parasitism and Host Manipulation By Dr. Kyle Lesack Nature provides countless examples of ingenious adaptations...

One tongue-eating louse, Cymothoa exigua, was described in our Halloween comic: Free-swimming, juvenile Cymothoa exigua males attach to...

Toxoplasma gondii is a single-celled parasite that infects animals. Cyst forms wait in the muscle tissue of intermediate hosts to be...