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Lifestyle

Zombie Ants And Tongue-Eating Parasites: Nature Is Creepy AF And Here's Proof

Suganya
17/04/2019
02:53 MYT
Nature can be creepy, horrifying and frankly, more than a little disgusting at times.
If you've been keeping up with weird news recently, you would have read about a Taiwanese woman who found four bees in her eye.
Here's what happened: the poor woman was just trying to clear out some weed (not the kind you're thinking) when a gust of wind blew into her face and she felt something in her eye.
She didn't even realise the stuff that blew into her eye were bees until she went to the doctor, who pulled out the insects known as sweat bees.
Close your eyes! No other cases of bees-in-eye have been reported to date (thank god!), but sweat bees are known to feed off human sweat and tears.
That's right guys, there's a species of psychopathic bee out there that lives off people's tears.
If you think sweat bees are horrifying, wait till you check out some of the more terrifying creatures we listed down below. How much worse can it get? Let's find out!

#1 A worm that lives in your eyes

We think most can agree that worms are the grossest beings in the world.
Boneless, often slimy and wiggly, finding them anywhere is unpleasant but it's even worse when they are in your body.
Unfortunately for an unnamed Indian man, nightmare became a reality when a doctor found a 15cm-long roundworm in his eye.
What's worse is that the worm had to be removed while it was still alive to avoid further complication.
How did the parasite get into his eye, you ask? Through a mosquito bite. Insects can carry parasites larvae and transfer it to other animals that it comes into contact with.
That's exactly what happened to the 60-year-old. The larvae that was transferred by the mosquito bite went into his lymphatic system and multiplied, spread and eventually one of it reached his eye, according to this report.
We guess it's a good thing one of these wigglers ended up somewhere obvious as his condition may not have been detected for a long time otherwise as this type of infection doesn't always come with symptoms.
If you've got a strong stomach or just like torturing yourself, you can watch the removal of the worm below:
If you think this is a rare occurrence and you are safe, think again.
This kind of parasitic worms are quite common in tropical weather and we, living in Malaysia, are in an environment that's perfect for 'em to thrive.
Just Google "worm/parasite in eye" and check out the results if you doubt us.

#2 A worm that bursts out from your skin

Like string, but it's not. OK, this is as sad as it is disturbing. Guinea Worms is a type of roundworm that infects people who have no access to clean water and proper medical care.
According to this website, the worms actually live in Cyclop water fleas usually found in untreated water.
When people who have no access to clean water drink what they get, the worm larvae that lives inside the fleas hatches itself in their stomachs.
The worm then moves from the intestines to the outer tissues until it eventually reaches the skin about a year later. By this time, the worm would be quite long (a female worm can reach up to 80cm long, in case you're wondering).
The worm then makes its way through several layers of tissues before piercing through the skin, creating a blister.
The discomfort is such that people often dunk their foot (where the worm often emerges) in water, where the female vomits out the embryos so the process can be repeated.
They would then have to extract the worm without breaking it to avoid severe immune reaction.
If a person is unlucky enough to have both male and female worms, the likelihood of the parasites mating is very high. The male dies after mating, but the female can carry up to 30,000 embryos.
The good thing is, the occurrence of Guinea-Worm Disease has reduced significantly over the years with only a few hundred cases reported in recent times.

#3 A bacteria that eats your flesh

Sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, doesn't it? Unfortunately, there are bacterias out there that feast on human flesh, leading to loss of limbs and yes, even death.
The scary thing is that, a small percentage of adults and children carry these so-called flesh-eating bacteria (there are several types) but it is often harmless.
However, if the bacteria enters a wound or blister, it starts destroying skin, fat and even muscle.
The least disturbing picture we could find on the internet Scientists haven't quite figured out how these bacteria work, but this report gives us some hope.
Researchers have found that these bacteria survive on a type of protein called transporters in the human body.
Now that they have found what gives the bacteria life, hopefully better treatment can be found too.
Till then, be sure to always get your blisters checked, especially if you got it while traveling and were out in nature.

#4 A parasite that eats tongues (and then becomes a tongue)

Hi, I'm your tongue now! If you think humans have it bad, wait till you hear what some animals have to endure.
There is a type of parasite called cymothoa exigua (or as our editor calls it, Bob) that starts off as a male parasite, but later changes it's gender to female. This gender changing process usually happen in a fish's gill, which is, well, not that disturbing.
Once the parasite turns female, however, things go downhill for the fish. Bob basically crawls into the fish's mouth, pierces its tongue and starts sucking blood.
Now, Bob is not stupid; it needs the fish to be alive to get food, so it doesn't suck off all the blood - just enough for the tongue to die and drop off.
Then, Bob essentially takes over the role of the tongue and steals the fish's food, and both the organisms live happily together.
In fact, a male Bob would even enter the fish's mouth to mate with a female Bob, which then releases little Bob babies into the water so the process can be repeated over and over again.
The fish becomes something like Bob's home, only...it's still alive but can't taste its food. A worse fate than death, if you ask us.

#5 Mind-controlling fungus that creates zombie ants

Yes, zombies are real. Deep in the jungles of Brazil, there is a super villain-like fungus called the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis that needs very specific living condition to thrive: it has to stay at least 25cm above the forest floor.
So, what does a poor fungus that can't move on its own do? Attack an ant, drain it of nutrients and take over it's mind so it can be the vessel it needs to move around, that's what.
The ant, controlled by the fungus, then leaves its colony, moves precisely 25cm above the forest floor and finds a leaf to hold on to.
Now that the poor ant has served its purpose, the fungus then pierces through the ant's head and with its antenna-like 'gadget', produces spores that eventually get sprayed on the ants' colony, infecting more of them.
Now, we have a whole colony of zombie ants controlled by fungi. We guess we're lucky human minds are a lot more complex and not as easily manipulated by fungi, amirite?

#6 A worm that will make insects commit suicide

Definitely hair-raising stuff. Want to hear something scary? Fungi are not the only living organism that have the ability to control minds.
In America, there's a species of worm called the Horsehair worm (for obvious reasons), that lives at the bottom of rivers until some unsuspecting insects eat them.
Once the insects get above water and somehow get into contact with crickets (we're unsure how this particular process works or why crickets specifically), they start sucking the life out of the poor insect and slowly, the worm grows in size.
They can grow up to one feet long, although some species can grow up to six feet long inside crickets. Now, here's the messed up part: the cricket doesn't know that it's being mind-controlled and they would go into silent mode to save energy.
(On a side note, is that why we're always so darn tired?)
The worms, when they feel they are ready to breed and pop some eggs into the water, would then somehow convince usually water-hating crickets to jump right into a body of water, essentially killing itself.
Poor crickets.
The worm then pierces through the insects exoskeleton and does its thing to continue the survival of its species.
BRB guys, we suddenly feel itchy all over.
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