#parasitic — Public Fediverse posts

@nev it can happen that for example depending on the #mobility of the #beetle species and its #strategy to perform its #selfcleaning #behaviors that #phoretic and #parasitic #mites can be limited to small numbers only on an even relatively large #beetle. Most Scarabaeidae develop in #soilhabitats. But when it is #decayingwood or #compost, then this improves the probability that it has associations with phoretic mites. In beetles, #phoreticmites can sometimes be hidden under the elytrae.

@nev it can happen that for example depending on the #mobility of the #beetle species and its #strategy to perform its #selfcleaning #behaviors that #phoretic and #parasitic #mites can be limited to small numbers only on an even relatively large #beetle. Most Scarabaeidae develop in #soilhabitats. But when it is #decayingwood or #compost, then this improves the probability that it has associations with phoretic mites. In beetles, #phoreticmites can sometimes be hidden under the elytrae.

The beetle #Valgus #hemipterus is a not very rare inhabitant of Southern Europe and #CentralEurope. The #specimen shown here flew onto my windowsill in #Berlin. It harbored unidentified #mites of the #Uropodina and of #Laelapidae with the latter having conspicuous strongly developed chelicerae. The Uropodinae are #phoretic and Laelapidae either phoretic or facultatively #parasitic.©#StefanFWirth

Please support my work,I depend on donations:
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#Photos
©S.F.Wirth

The beetle #Valgus #hemipterus is a not very rare inhabitant of Southern Europe and #CentralEurope. The #specimen shown here flew onto my windowsill in #Berlin. It harbored unidentified #mites of the #Uropodina and of #Laelapidae with the latter having conspicuous strongly developed chelicerae. The Uropodinae are #phoretic and Laelapidae either phoretic or facultatively #parasitic.©#StefanFWirth

Please support my work,I depend on donations:
https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

#Photos
©S.F.Wirth

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@kim_harding/115984446339509467

#Sarcoptes #scabiei var. hominis (#Astigmata, Acariformes) is a skin-#parasitic #mite that feeds on human #epidermal cells. Infection typically occurs via adult, mated #females.The mite has #subspecies found on both #domestic and #wild #animals. The #evolutionary direction was via #humanancestors to humans and from there #spreading first to domestic animals and then to wild animals (see ref).
© #StefanFWirth 2026

Reference
R. W. Currier er al. (2012): https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06364.x

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@kim_harding/115984446339509467

#Sarcoptes #scabiei var. hominis (#Astigmata, Acariformes) is a skin-#parasitic #mite that feeds on human #epidermal cells. Infection typically occurs via adult, mated #females.The mite has #subspecies found on both #domestic and #wild #animals. The #evolutionary direction was via #humanancestors to humans and from there #spreading first to domestic animals and then to wild animals (see ref).
© #StefanFWirth 2026

Reference
R. W. Currier er al. (2012): https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06364.x

“Every major change in #economics has been associated with some way of adding value in society until we reach #neoliberalism,   which is fundamentally different from all the others because it is #parasitic, based upon rent #extraction and not upon value creation.”
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/01/25/neoliberalism-is-dying-whats-next/

“Every major change in #economics has been associated with some way of adding value in society until we reach #neoliberalism,   which is fundamentally different from all the others because it is #parasitic, based upon rent #extraction and not upon value creation.”
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2026/01/25/neoliberalism-is-dying-whats-next/

10-Dec-2025
The evolutionary mysteries of a rare #parasitic plant
New study maps the strange #genomes of Asia-Pacific Balanophora species, giving new insights into the #evolution of parasitic #plants and an unconventional role of #plastids.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1109271

#science #ecology

10-Dec-2025
The evolutionary mysteries of a rare #parasitic plant
New study maps the strange #genomes of Asia-Pacific Balanophora species, giving new insights into the #evolution of parasitic #plants and an unconventional role of #plastids.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1109271

#science #ecology

Flying #Parasitic #Worms Use This Superpower to Ambush #Prey Midair

https://gizmodo.com/flying-parasitic-worms-use-this-superpower-to-ambush-prey-midair-2000676165

Flying #Parasitic #Worms Use This Superpower to Ambush #Prey Midair

https://gizmodo.com/flying-parasitic-worms-use-this-superpower-to-ambush-prey-midair-2000676165

Andropogon false-smut (Epicoccum andropogonis) growing on a grass spikelet. The fungus is feeding on the sugary exudate of a parasitic fungus (Claviceps sp.) that is infecting the plant. #fungus #fungi #grasses #monocots #parasitic #saprobic #nature #plants #botany #mycology #macrophotography

Andropogon false-smut (Epicoccum andropogonis) growing on a grass spikelet. The fungus is feeding on the sugary exudate of a parasitic fungus (Claviceps sp.) that is infecting the plant. #fungus #fungi #grasses #monocots #parasitic #saprobic #nature #plants #botany #mycology #macrophotography

Golden ear (Naematelia aurantia) parasitizing false turkey tail (Stereum hirsutum). I really wanted to take this log home but people were looking. Rose Valley, PA, USA. #fungi #fungus #mushrooms #log #parasitic #mycology #biology #nature

Golden ear (Naematelia aurantia) parasitizing false turkey tail (Stereum hirsutum). I really wanted to take this log home but people were looking. Rose Valley, PA, USA. #fungi #fungus #mushrooms #log #parasitic #mycology #biology #nature

We also saw some ghost pipes while out hiking in the forest. These were all under 6" in height. They were growing in small bunches of twos, three and a smattering of fours in various stages of development.

#PerennialPlant #GhostPipes #Parasitic #GhostPlant #Nature #Hiking #Illinois

We also saw some ghost pipes while out hiking in the forest. These were all under 6" in height. They were growing in small bunches of twos, three and a smattering of fours in various stages of development.

#PerennialPlant #GhostPipes #Parasitic #GhostPlant #Nature #Hiking #Illinois

Nice patch of dodder (Cuscuta sp.) at the restored meadow in the Crum Woods (Swarthmore College). No flowers yet so species ID is hopeless. #swarthmore #dodder #parasite #parasitic #botany #plants #cuscuta #nature #vines #convolvulaceae #ricohgriiix

Nice patch of dodder (Cuscuta sp.) at the restored meadow in the Crum Woods (Swarthmore College). No flowers yet so species ID is hopeless. #swarthmore #dodder #parasite #parasitic #botany #plants #cuscuta #nature #vines #convolvulaceae #ricohgriiix

The #firebug #Pyrrhocoris apterus is widespread throughout much of #Palearctic. Adults and the five nymphal stages tend to #aggregate. They are #soildwellers and feed on plant #seeds, occasionally also on insect eggs. Some mite species can be on the bugs, with the #parasitic #mite #Hemipteroseius adleri being particularly specialized for it.

© #StefanFWirth #Berlin 2025

in my #YouTube video about a tree (2025)
https://youtu.be/wZqDuEFu8Nk?si=0HLyBsc4VjzGKvok

#Photo

P. apterus Bln, 2020, new edit 2025 © S. F. Wirth

The #firebug #Pyrrhocoris apterus is widespread throughout much of #Palearctic. Adults and the five nymphal stages tend to #aggregate. They are #soildwellers and feed on plant #seeds, occasionally also on insect eggs. Some mite species can be on the bugs, with the #parasitic #mite #Hemipteroseius adleri being particularly specialized for it.

© #StefanFWirth #Berlin 2025

in my #YouTube video about a tree (2025)
https://youtu.be/wZqDuEFu8Nk?si=0HLyBsc4VjzGKvok

#Photo

P. apterus Bln, 2020, new edit 2025 © S. F. Wirth

Solution: #zerotolerance = do not go soft on #parasitic #influencers and #narcissistic #tourists who flout the local #laws. ⚖️👮‍♂️

Nature's viny vampire: Discovering what drives #parasitic #Cuscuta campestris

#dodder #CcMCA1 #sensing #ion_channels

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-nature-viny-vampire-parasitic-cuscuta.html

Dodder bursting out of a host stem to flower. They don't usually reside inside other plants so this was worth a pic. Normally they just wrap around another plant and send in root-like haustoria to suck the juices out, like the situation you can see on the left. #cuscuta #dodder #convolvulaceae #parasitic #parasite #plants #botany #biology

Dodder bursting out of a host stem to flower. They don't usually reside inside other plants so this was worth a pic. Normally they just wrap around another plant and send in root-like haustoria to suck the juices out, like the situation you can see on the left. #cuscuta #dodder #convolvulaceae #parasitic #parasite #plants #botany #biology

#Parasitic organism offers eco-friendly treatment for #wastewater foaming

#Mycosynbacter #mightymicrobe #Gordonia #mycolic_acid #cell_wall

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-parasitic-eco-friendly-treatment-wastewater.html

Scientists identify key #gene that's critical for #parasitic #weed resistance and #tomato yield.

#agriculture #strigolactone_transporter #SlABCG45 #Orobanche #Phelipanche

https://phys.org/news/2025-02-scientists-key-gene-critical-parasitic.html

As social beings we create value together.

#BigTech has squeezed itself in between us, has made us dependent on (addicted to) this mediation, and uses it to shape the way we relate to each other to pursue its own interest.

We need to purge ourselves of this #parasitic #mediation, to again freely enjoy each others' digital company.

#Ecology #SocialMedia

As social beings we create value together.

#BigTech has squeezed itself in between us, has made us dependent on (addicted to) this mediation, and uses it to shape the way we relate to each other to pursue its own interest.

We need to purge ourselves of this #parasitic #mediation, to again freely enjoy each others' digital company.

#Ecology #SocialMedia

Hunting the #ghostwort – a bryological Halloween tale
https://stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/39486

"It’s a myco-heterotroph, which means that it can’t make its own food, and instead obtains it from #fungi. In fact, Aneura mirabilis is an epiparasite – it’s #parasitic on an organism that’s itself a #parasite! The #ghostwort gets its food from a #fungus called Tulasnella. This fungus in turn forms an ectomycorrhizal association with the roots of nearby #trees, usually birch"

Hunting the #ghostwort – a bryological Halloween tale
https://stories.rbge.org.uk/archives/39486

"It’s a myco-heterotroph, which means that it can’t make its own food, and instead obtains it from #fungi. In fact, Aneura mirabilis is an epiparasite – it’s #parasitic on an organism that’s itself a #parasite! The #ghostwort gets its food from a #fungus called Tulasnella. This fungus in turn forms an ectomycorrhizal association with the roots of nearby #trees, usually birch"

#IndianGhostPipe - #MonotropaUniflora

Herbaceous, #perennial flowering plant.

It can't generate its own chlorophyll & is #parasitic - specifically #mycoheterotroph. Its #symbiotic #fungi hosts are in the #Russulaceae family.

Through the fungal web of #mycorrhizae, #GhostPipe roots sap food from where the host fungi are connected to the #photosynthetic #trees. Clustered node roots of this plant are covered in hairs called #cystidium. The #cystidia found on these roots allow easy attachment to #FungiHyphae. As it's not dependent on sunlight to grow, it can grow in very dark environments, like understories of forests.

#Indigenous #Cherokee peoples feature the "pipe plant" in some of their #CreationStories. The legend states that the plant was named "Indian pipe" due to a group of chiefs quarreling without resolution, while passing a pipe around during the dispute; the Great Spirit then turned the chiefs into the plant, as they should have smoked the sacred pipe after making peace with each other. The plant is said to grow wherever friends have quarreled.

Native to #PacificNorthwest & a few other areas too.

#NotAFungi #PlantIdentification #PlantLovers #ParasiticPlants #InterestingPlants #Wsanec #Saanich #PNW #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #cascadia #LearnAboutPlants #Bloomscrolling #StrangeFlowers #ForestPlants #YYJ #Nature #WildPlants #NativePlants

#IndianGhostPipe - #MonotropaUniflora

Herbaceous, #perennial flowering plant.

It can't generate its own chlorophyll & is #parasitic - specifically #mycoheterotroph. Its #symbiotic #fungi hosts are in the #Russulaceae family.

Through the fungal web of #mycorrhizae, #GhostPipe roots sap food from where the host fungi are connected to the #photosynthetic #trees. Clustered node roots of this plant are covered in hairs called #cystidium. The #cystidia found on these roots allow easy attachment to #FungiHyphae. As it's not dependent on sunlight to grow, it can grow in very dark environments, like understories of forests.

#Indigenous #Cherokee peoples feature the "pipe plant" in some of their #CreationStories. The legend states that the plant was named "Indian pipe" due to a group of chiefs quarreling without resolution, while passing a pipe around during the dispute; the Great Spirit then turned the chiefs into the plant, as they should have smoked the sacred pipe after making peace with each other. The plant is said to grow wherever friends have quarreled.

Native to #PacificNorthwest & a few other areas too.

#NotAFungi #PlantIdentification #PlantLovers #ParasiticPlants #InterestingPlants #Wsanec #Saanich #PNW #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #cascadia #LearnAboutPlants #Bloomscrolling #StrangeFlowers #ForestPlants #YYJ #Nature #WildPlants #NativePlants

Advanced imaging reveals how a #parasitic 'kiss' alters #cell #metabolism.

#Toxoplasma #optical_metabolic_imaging #apicomplexan

https://phys.org/news/2024-07-advanced-imaging-reveals-parasitic-cell.html

Advanced imaging reveals how a #parasitic 'kiss' alters #cell #metabolism.

#Toxoplasma #optical_metabolic_imaging #apicomplexan

https://phys.org/news/2024-07-advanced-imaging-reveals-parasitic-cell.html

Why #climate_change is making #parasitic #diseases harder to predict.

#epidemology #zoonotics

https://theconversation.com/why-climate-change-is-making-parasitic-diseases-harder-to-predict-229575

Why #climate_change is making #parasitic #diseases harder to predict.

#epidemology #zoonotics

https://theconversation.com/why-climate-change-is-making-parasitic-diseases-harder-to-predict-229575

LOSING HOPE
parasitic economy murders the future

#capitalism #parasitic #losinghope #nofuture #directaction #takeaction

LOSING HOPE
parasitic economy murders the future

#capitalism #parasitic #losinghope #nofuture #directaction #takeaction

#Archaea can be 'picky eaters': Study shows a group of #parasitic #microbes can change host #metabolism.

#DPANN #lipids

https://phys.org/news/2024-05-archaea-picky-eaters-group-parasitic.html

Licenses like GPL are reciprocative licenses. If you take, you must also give back.

Licenses like MIT are parasitic licenses. You can take without giving back.

#software #freedom #licenses #reciprocative #parasitic

Licenses like GPL are reciprocative licenses. If you take, you must also give back.

Licenses like MIT are parasitic licenses. You can take without giving back.

#software #freedom #licenses #reciprocative #parasitic

@ruisan I’d call it a reciprocating license.

And I’d call licenses where you can take without giving back parasitic licenses.

#licenses #reciprocating #parasitic

@ruisan I’d call it a reciprocating license.

And I’d call licenses where you can take without giving back parasitic licenses.

#licenses #reciprocating #parasitic

Successful #Treatment of Confirmed #Naegleria fowleri Primary Amebic #Meningoencephalitis, Emerg Infect Dis.: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/4/23-0979_article

#PAM caused by Naegleria fowleri is a rare but nearly always fatal #parasitic infection of the #brain. Globally, few survivors have been reported, and the disease has no specific treatment. We report a confirmed case in #Pakistan in a 22-year-old man who survived after aggressive therapy.

Successful #Treatment of Confirmed #Naegleria fowleri Primary Amebic #Meningoencephalitis, Emerg Infect Dis.: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/4/23-0979_article

#PAM caused by Naegleria fowleri is a rare but nearly always fatal #parasitic infection of the #brain. Globally, few survivors have been reported, and the disease has no specific treatment. We report a confirmed case in #Pakistan in a 22-year-old man who survived after aggressive therapy.

Do #Lizards Really Have ‘Mite Pockets’? https://tetzoo.com/blog/2024/3/1/do-lizards-really-have-mite-pockets by @TetZoo

"Over 200 modern #lizard species possess slits, apertures and folds in the skin... these are often inhabited by #parasitic mites... Because the pockets seemingly don’t have a function other than their use by #mites, it was proposed back in the 1980s that lizards and mites have co-evolved such that the pockets are specialized mite aggregation sites."

Do #Lizards Really Have ‘Mite Pockets’? https://tetzoo.com/blog/2024/3/1/do-lizards-really-have-mite-pockets by @TetZoo

"Over 200 modern #lizard species possess slits, apertures and folds in the skin... these are often inhabited by #parasitic mites... Because the pockets seemingly don’t have a function other than their use by #mites, it was proposed back in the 1980s that lizards and mites have co-evolved such that the pockets are specialized mite aggregation sites."

A secret war between cane #toads and #parasitic lungworms is raging across Australia https://theconversation.com/a-secret-war-between-cane-toads-and-parasitic-lungworms-is-raging-across-australia-223461

A biological invasion modifies the dynamics of a host–#parasite arms race https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.2403

"When the first #CaneToads were brought from South America to #Queensland in 1935, many of the #parasites that troubled them were left behind. But deep inside the #lungs of at least one of those pioneer toads lurked small nematode #lungworms."

Finally, a #malaria #vaccine is being distributed https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bugbitten/2024/02/02/finally-a-malaria-vaccine-is-being-distributed/

"The new, approved #MalariaVaccine has moved to a national distribution in #Cameroon, marking a small but mighty milestone in control of the #parasitic #disease... many children in #Africa have already received their boosters from the #WHO Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme."

#Protists #Parasites #Microbes #Vaccines

This Tiny #Parasitic #Wasp Can Drill Through #Plastic : NY Times

How do #Climate #Models work? : Misc

When #Burnout Is a Sign You Should Leave Your #Job : HBR

Check our latest #KnowledgeLinks

https://knowledgezone.co.in/resources/bookmarks