parasites

Midwest and Northeast cities are the most fed up with beg bugs.

Yelp reveals the top U.S. cities searching for bed bug help. Find out where infestations are raising red flags.

Gibellula pulchra is in the same genus as Gibellula attenboroughii.

Researchers discovered a parasitic fungus that controls spiders‘ behavior, akin to the zombie ant fungus.

Only three bat species, out of some 1100 in the world, actually have a taste for blood.

The CDC is giving people a very good reason to wash their produce.

A tongue-eating parasite is just one of the many charming wonders of nature.

The tongue-eating louse is a charming little isopod that likes to burrow into a fish's gills, settle in its mouth, then suck the blood out of its tongue until it falls off so that it can replace the organ and dine on the mucus.

It’s the ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ of the insect world, featuring a cameo by Anne Boleyn’s headless ghost.

The Merugo Parasitological Museum has more than 300 life-sucking species on display, including a 28.9-foot long tapeworm. It's got date night written all over it.

The non-native species doesn't wait for stationary hosts. It actively pursues them, scuttling over the ground to secure a blood meal.

Even when two-thirds of their bodies are composed of fungal spores, the host cicadas continue to attempt mating in a drugged-out stupor.

A mosquito-borne disease might be responsible for the Louisiana Purchase.

By some estimates, malaria has killed half of everyone who has ever lived—and it almost took down one former president.

The common parasite appears to influence human behavior.

Courtesy of Kari Kaunisto/Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku

It paralyzes its victims before depositing eggs inside them so they can burst like a bomb later. What a charmer.

Hans Hillewaert, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.03

With the ability to control and even kill their hosts, each one of these parasites could star as the next terror of the silver screen.

Time is of the essence in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease.

Helminthic therapy is unproven for many conditions and is currently illegal in most countries.

The culprit is parasites, not pollution.

Contrary to prior reports, the new study found that living with a cat before birth or in childhood did not increase adolescents’ risk of experiencing psychotic episodes.