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Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Parasite Comes Out of Praying Mantis

We learn something new everyday on here! 
Interesting vid of a parasite coming out of a praying mantis once it was dunked in water. From a bit of research, it seems this parasite is called the horsehair worm or Nematomorpha, which essentially eats its host alive from the inside. They can grow up to 100 centimetres (39 inches) or in extreme cases up to 2 metres (6 ft.)! The infection acts on the insect's brain and causes it to seek water and drown itself, thus returning the nematomorph to water - perfect for them as they need water to reproduce. The apparently 'invade' all kinds of insects, (see 2nd vid below)...







 

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