Parasite of the Day

On Memorial Day, we honor the many soldiers who fought for our country. While bullets and other forms of arms are certainly the primary con...

Although most commonly found infecting pigs, Ascaris suum , a large roundworm nematode, can also infect humans. This species has the same l...

While it is far from a universal rule that the largest worms are found in the largest hosts, it is true that the longest tapeworm known is f...

If you’ve ever had chiggers, you know they’re really, really irritating. These are the parasitic larval stages of free-living mites, and Eu...

Some crabs, like hermit crabs, live in the discarded shells of mollusks, but some, like the pea crab Pinnotheres pisum , just can't wait...

It is thought that Balantidium coli is the only ciliate (think Paramecium ) that is parasitic in people (causing the disease Balantidiasis)...

This photo may exceed the “yuck factor” for some. Taenia taniaeformis is the common tapeworm of house cats and is also found in other speci...

If you suddenly experience a sharp abdominal pain and have recently eaten sushi, ceviche, or pickled herring, there's a chance you might...

Proteocephalus pinguis parasitizes pike (how about them P's??). These are tapeworms (cestodes) that alternate between their fish hosts...

Today's parasite, the leech Placobdella parasitica is an excellent parent. Not only can it perform both motherly and fatherly duties ...