Zombie Snails

Source: Mario Quevedo

“Zombie” by MarioQA is licensed with CC BY-NC 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

By: Isabella Phillips, Writer

AH ZOMBIES! Yes, zombies are scary, but this one poses no threat to you. In fact, it isn’t even a real zombie!

This is a strange work of nature, and many people have been left wondering what happened. They spot snails glowing and moving in the daytime, and being eaten by birds just as fast. This is because of a parasite called Leucochloridium, also known as a green banded broodsac , a worm beyond worms. CBC Kids News, The process starts when the snail, feasting on poop, eats a larvae of the parasite. Goodbye snail! It has now become a host for the parasite, nothing more than a living shell. The worm then goes up into the snail’s eyes and starts pulsating like a caterpillar, moving and vibrant. The worm then mind controls the snail, coercing it into the bright light of day, and continues to mimic a caterpillar. Soon, a bird will fly in, eat the eye sockets of the snail -if it’s lucky- or the whole snail, ingesting the parasite as well. The final goal of the Leucochloridium has been achieved. It lays eggs in the bird’s organs, and those eggs hatch, becoming larvae. Once the bird poops, the parasites will be dispersed into the world once more, ready to begin their circle of life. Don’t fret about the snail though! Its super healing powers allow it to regrow its lost eyes, and continue on with its life. Possibly one day it will again be taken over by the magical mind controlling parasite, but for now, it has returned to a normal, worm free self. It really is just a mystery of life that this parasite’s brain has been engineered to be able to take over the mind of another living creature, and make that creature do whatever the broodsac wants.

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