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In the old, teenage fiction series, The Animorphs, planet earth is invaded by a race of aliens called the Yeerks. The yeerks are parasitic slugs that crawl through the ears of humans, and once inside, enter the skull and control the person by manipulating their brain. Once again, science has produced something just as cool. Though thankfully, the real life parasite only affects grasshoppers…

Spinochordodes tellinii, the nematomorph hairworm, is a species of worm that spends most of its life cycle in fresh water. However, while it is growing, it is not in fresh water. Instead, it is inside a grasshopper. The worm grows inside the grasshopper until it is approximately 3 to 4 times the length of the grasshopper itself. At this point, it releases special chemicals and proteins. This malignant cock tail forces the grasshopper to first find a body of fresh water, and then jump in and drown itself. As soon as the grasshopper hits the water, the hairworm emerges, and begins the next part of its lifecycle: searching for a mate.

Copyright © Science Museum of Minnesota, 2004-2009, except where noted

For more information, see: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0901_050901_wormparasite.html

 Brad Rybinski