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Cake day: July 10th, 2023

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  • Some species of snails are infected with a parasitic flatworm called Leucochloridium paradoxum, which has a life cycle that involves manipulating the snail’s behavior and appearance to increase its own chances of survival. The parasite causes the snail’s eyes to turn into worm-like protrusions, which are actually just the parasite’s own larvae.

    To birds, these worm-like eyes look like tasty little morsels, and they’ll often peck at them to eat them. But in doing so, they’re actually ingesting the parasite’s larvae, which then complete their life cycle inside the bird’s digestive system.