OT..?? Dicrocoelium dendriticum
Submitted: Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 12:14
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Member - Doug T (FNQ)
I was just watching the amazing life cycle or the this Parasite , and was wondering if some certain members of EO ...or maybe some Politicians have been infested, because it does go for the brain.
D. dendriticum spends its adult life inside the liver of its host. After mating, the eggs are excreted in the feces. The first intermediate host, the terrestrial snail (Cionella lubrica in the
United States), eats the feces, and becomes infected by the larval parasites. The larvae (or cercariae) drill through the wall of the gut and settle in its digestive tract, where they develop into a juvenile stage. The snail tries to defend itself by walling the parasites off in cysts, which it then excretes and leaves behind in the grass. The second intermediate host, an ant (Formica fusca in the
United States), uses the trail of slime as a source of moisture. The ant then swallows a cyst loaded with hundreds of juvenile lancet flukes. The parasites enter the gut and then drift through its body. Most of the cercariae encyst in the haemocoel of the ant and mature into metacercariae, but one moves to the sub-esophageal ganglion (a cluster of nerve cells underneath the esophagus). There, the fluke takes control of the ant's actions by manipulating these nerves. As evening approaches and the air cools, the infested ant is drawn away from other members of the colony and upward to the top of a blade of grass. Once there, it clamps its mandibles onto the top of the blade and stays there until dawn. Afterward, it goes back to its normal activity at the ant colony. If the host ant were to be subjected to the heat of the direct sun, it would die along with the parasite. Night after night, the ant goes back to the top of a blade of grass until a grazing animal (Rabbits/Cattle) comes along and eats the blade, upon which the lancet flukes will be back inside their host. They live out their adult lives inside the animal, reproduce, and the cycle continues.
Reply By: Member - Michael J (SA) - Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 15:51
Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 15:51
"I was just watching the amazing life cycle or the this Parasite"
Doug.....I must get you a better hobby.........ROFLMAO
Cheers
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Follow Up By: QLD Kev & Darkie - Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 15:52
Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 15:52
I think Doug is learning about how to get rid of certain
pests ;))
Cheers Kev
| Russell Coight:
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Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (FNQ) - Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 15:55
Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 15:55
Michael
Hows things in your little town, will send you an email later.
About the Parasite , i was watching about it on TV earlier , just bloody amazing , what a way to evolve,
Doug
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Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (FNQ) - Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 16:03
Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 16:03
Michael
Check your MMs
Doug
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Reply By: Member No 1- Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 16:46
Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 16:46
you mus ge bored easily
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Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (FNQ) - Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 17:24
Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 17:24
Member No 1
Never Bored mate, we live in a wonderful and interesting world and you can learn something new every day, Always like watching documentarys or reading something ,
.
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Reply By: Member - Michael J (SA) - Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 17:30
Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 17:30
Hey Dougy........
Just revisited this and read the thread in full.........
that is gross mate......has almost put me off the BBQ with the
rellies.....LOL LOL
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (FNQ) - Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 17:38
Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 17:38
Michael
Yeh ...ya see , it is unbelievable how some living things live, How it controls the Ants brain had me gob smacked.
Doug
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Follow Up By: QLD Kev & Darkie - Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 17:55
Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 at 17:55
It must be female LOL
Kev
| Russell Coight:
He was presented with a difficult decision: push on into the stretching deserts, or return home to his wife.Lifetime Member My Profile My Blog Send Message |
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