July 1, 2011

Parasites: By the Numbers!

200Tick species in the United States
2Bird species that feed on blood—the vampire finch and the Galápagos mockingbird
20Minutes a vampire bat feeds on its prey
32“Brains,” or nerve endings, per leech
100Teeth in a lamprey’s mouth

  1 Botfly larvae that the person in the video below is going to pull out of her head. 
The human botfly, Dermatobia hominis, lives in Central and South America. It is an insect that plants its eggs into the skin of people. After the eggs, hatch, the larvae grow and feed IN THE SKIN of the person, and then they come out. It is gross.
WARNING: I told you, this is gross!

Top info from the Audubon Society.

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