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Sphaerularia vespae
Hornets can put fear into the minds of many people, but today meet the parasite that the hornets fear (if they are capable of fear). Sphaerularia vespae is a parasitic nematode that infects the...
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Ophiocordyceps sessilis
There are many species of fungi that infect insects and some of the most well-known species are the ones that infect ants, better known to most as the "zombie ant fungus". We have previously featured...
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Tracheliastes polycolpus
Photo of adult T. polycolpus from hereTracheliastes polycolpus is a parasitic copepod that live on freshwater fish and do so by attaching to the fins of their host, grazing on mucus and epithelial...
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Lethacotyle vera
Images from the paper While "many sucker-cups at the rear" sounds like the description for a Lovecraftian monstrosity, that is the name of a group of monogenean parasites called the Polyopisthocotylea....
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Another year of parasites in insects, in shellfish and in extreme environments
It is hard to believe that it's already been another year again, and it was a particularly exciting year too, with a lot happening with and around this blog. In terms of the parasites we featured on...
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Choniomyzon inflatus
Photo of C. inflatus from the paperI guess you can kind of say the parasite we are featuring today is a "balloon animal" and indeed its name refers to it. According to the paper which described and...
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Phronima sp.
Today's guest post is by Katie O'Dwyer, a PhD student currently at University of Otago in the Evolutionary and Ecological Parasitology research group. In one of my conference reports last year, I...
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Daubaylia potomaca
Photo is of a related species, Daubaylia malayanum from here. For a parasite, the host provides provides food, shelter, and a site for reproduction - in short, a complete habitat. While for some...
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Gordionus chinensis
Hairworms are known for their ability to make their host go for an impromptu (and terminal) swim in a stream or a pond, but by doing that they are not just sending ripples through the water, but also...
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Cucumispora dikerogammari
Invasive species can be very disruptive - cane toads, rabbits, water hyacinth, and zebra mussels are just a few well-known examples of species that have been introduced to areas outside of their...
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Octopicola superba
When it comes to reproduction, most living things can be classified along a scale. At one end, you have the r-strategists (many insects and molluscs) that produce a prodigious number of offspring but...
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Bivitellobilharzia nairi
A little over a year ago, I wrote a post about Bivitellobilharzia loxodontae - a species of blood fluke that lives in the African forest elephant. Today I am writing about a study on another species...
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Controrchis sp.
Extreme weather events can cause significant changes to ecosystems and their inhabitants. When Hurricane Iris made landfall at Belize, it caused widespread devastation in its wake. The study we are...
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Nematocenator marisprofundi
Parasitism is the most common mode of life on Earth and it can found everywhere, in all kinds of environments. Even in extreme places such deep sea hydrothermal vents, amidst hellish geysers pouring...
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Loxothylacus panopei
Photo by Inken Kruse via the Hare LabSome parasites can manipulate their host's behaviour in very spectacular ways, but there are also other parasites that change their host's habits in more subtle...
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Anilocra nemipteri
Photo from Figure 1 of the paperThe parasite in the study being featured today makes a living riding around on the top of a fish's head and occasionally gnawing on its face. It is in the same family as...
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Ismaila belciki
Photo of infected Janolus fuscus used with permission from Jeff GoddardIf you ever find yourself down by the sea, you may come across some very flamboyant sea slugs call nudibranchs. But beneath their...
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Special Report: #ASP2014 (Australia) Part I: The Wild World of Parasites
Photo by Lisa JoneRecently I attended the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology (ASP) - it also happened to be the 50th anniversary of the Society, so it was kind of a big deal for...
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Special Report: #ASP2014 (Australia) Part II: Something Fishy This Way Come
This is Part 2 of my report on the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitology (ASP 2014) I attended earlier this month. If you had missed Part 1 of my report, you can read it here....
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Ismaila sp.
Those who have been reading this blog for a while might recall that this time last year, I featured some guest posts written by students from my Evolutionary Parasitology (ZOOL329/529) class. Well, it...
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