Quiet Kingdom November 2023

First published in Sanctuary Cub, Vol. 43 No. 11, November 2023

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Photo Feature

Mind control
Mind control: The green-banded broodsac Leucochloridium paradoxum, is a parasitic flatworm that hijacks land snails of the genus Succinea. The parasite inflates and colours the snail’s tentacles to resemble a caterpillar, luring birds to eat them. Once in the bird, the parasite continues its lifecycle, having passed its eggs into the bird’s droppings, which snails consume. Remarkably, infected snails can live for over a year, still using their tentacles as eyes, but now under the parasite’s control. Photo: Swaroop Singha Roy/Sanctuary Photolibrary.