'The successful completion of the life cycle requires that the grazing mammal eats infected ants,' study author Brian Lund Fredensborg said.
, a parasite has been found to be able to control the minds of ants, forcing them to do its bidding.
They do this by forcing the ants to climb up blades of grass in order to get the ants eaten by grazing animals like cows and deer. New research in the journalreveals that the climbing is induced by the parasite specifically during dawn and dusk to avoid the heat of the midday sun. A parasite has been found to be able to control the minds of ants, forcing them to do its bidding. The ants climbs up and clamp their powerful jaws onto the top of a blade of grass, making it more likely to be eaten by grazers such as cattle and deer, which then become infected.The successful completion of the life cycle requires that the grazing mammal eats infected ants," he told.
The fluke then makes the ant crawl up high in grassy areas, causing it to be eaten by grazers. Next, the flukes that were inside the ant find their way to the liver of the grazer, developing into their full adult forms and laying eggs. These eggs are then excreted in the feces of the grazer.Occasionally, humans can be the host of the flukes at this stage of the cycle, and the parasites may infect our liver, leading in some cases to cholecystitis or liver abscesses, according to the U.S.
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