Parasitoid turns its host into a bodyguard

There are many examples of parasites that induce spectacular changes in the behaviour of their host. Flukes, for example, are thought to induce ants, their intermediate host, to move up onto blades of grass during the night and early morning. There, they firmly attach themselves to the substrate with their mandibles, and are thus consumed by grazing sheep, the fluke's final host. In contrast, uninfected ants return to their nests during the night and the cooler parts of the day. As another example, terrestrial insects parasitized by hairworms commit suicide by jumping into water, where the adult worms reproduce.

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