A growing number of people are keeping giant leeches as pets, and letting the bloodsucking parasites feed on their blood for sustenance. The breed of choice is the buffalo leech (Hirudinaria manillensis), which hails from southeast Asia and can grow up to two feet long. Breeders recommend the creatures feed every three to six months, … Read more
Groomer honeybees can boost a colony’s immunity by clearing deadly parasites off their nestmates using their mandibles, a study has found. For a short period of their lives, some worker bees take on the role of removing debris including dangerous pests from other members of the colony. These bees – dubbed allogroomers – develop a … Read more
Prehistoric worms found attached to primitive filter-feeding shellfish that lived 512 million years ago are the ‘earliest known parasites’ on Earth, a study reported. The worms and their unwitting host appeared soon after the so-called ‘Cambrian explosion’ — when all major animal groupings appear in the fossil record. The fossil shellfish — a brachiopod, which … Read more
Tube-like worms found attached to 521 million-year-old mollusks snatched food from the shell, which scientists say this is the first evidence of a parasitic relationship Researchers find thousands of fossilized brachiopods in a Chinese quarry The team discovered the shells once had tube-like worms attached to them Experts say the worms clasped around the shell … Read more