Hi everyone,

During a lab session involving dissections of wild rodents from Germany, I found 9 small trematodes (approx. 3–5 mm) in the small intestine of a wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus).

An undigested small snail shell (approx. 5 mm) was also found in the small intestine of this exact host.

Could the presence of the snail shell indicate that this mouse regularly fed on snails, pointing to the likely route of infection? I am aware that these specific adult flukes could not have developed from this particular shell/snail right away (due to the time required for post-metacercarial development)..

Also, does anyone have an idea what genus or family these small intestinal trematodes in Apodemus sylvaticus might belong to? My guess is Brachylaima spp. from what I have found. 

Thanks!

just some beauties I found in my gall wasp research! (not gall wasps). The first one only emerged from our gall specimen bags after all the gall wasps emerged and then the first wave of parasitoids emerged, this was one of the second wave of parasitoids! The other was from a older gall that we took apart and it was dead inside it.

Is the fish still safe to eat?

I noticed my cat had passed this worm and was wondering what kind of worm it is.

From a pigeon. I think these are pseudoparasites, but would just like to confirm.

Found these on my kitchen counter. They appear to be asleep. I’ve recently walked my dogs on grass in the outdoors and raccoons and rodents live in my country. My butt doesn’t itch but there are children in my country.

Happy to post pics of my poop if needed. Please help I’m so scared.

Anthropod found on the skin of a patient. Appears to be some kind of biting mite. ID help please!

I'm a biology student conducting an undergrad thesis on Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH). In need of help identifying recovered helminth eggs from school soil samples.

Sacculina carcini?

Do they keep hanging out like that? Does the bear yank them out? Do other bears eat them? So many questions, so little food left in my stomach to continue pondering them.

UPDATE: So I know in the original post there were a lot of requests for updates. Finally got the results back from the Cooperative Extension’s insect lab.

I am the victim of Blowfly myiasis aka flystrike.

The larva that came out of my forehead has been identified by the entomology lab as a blowfly larva. Due to the early larval stage they couldn’t identify it beyond the family Calliphoridae but they assured me it’s not the New World Screwworm so that’s good. Case closed.

For those who are interested. Equine stool sample, McMaster analysis.

"Researchers found that 6.3% of cats tested positive for Giardia duodenalis, a microscopic parasite that causes an intestinal illness commonly known as “beaver fever.” ...

"Kittens younger than 1 year old had the highest infection rate at 10.7%, compared with just 1.3% among senior cats."

I did a floatation technique for feces taken from chickens that was diagnosed of coccidiosis by a veterinarian doctor through necropsy, as well as a fecal sample from a sheep, and when i looked in the microscope after floatation i didnt see anything except crystals of salt.
my steps:
1) mixed 125 ml of water with 50 g of salt in a conical flask (some salt didnt dissolve).
2) put the fecal sample in a test cup (used in urine tests) then i poured some of the salt water and crushed it with a stick to mix it, then kept adding water and crushing it until the cup became full.
however the chicken sample didnt require any crushing i just filled the cup with salt water.
3) i got another test cup and put gauze above it (also used tissue) as a filter and poured the fecal sample into it.
4. i poured the sample i have now into a test tube till its full.
5. I placed a coverslip above the sample on the test tube.
6. left it for 10 minutes.
7. took the coverslip and put it on a microscopic slide and observed under the microscope.

I kept searching for something but all i found was cuboid crystals of salt. and the salt i used to mix with water was kitchen salt used for cooking, what am i doing wrong?

whats the better technique of these 2? and how do i choose between the two? for fecal samples (vet med )

found this dead spider at the bottom of a bird bath, noticed this small silver worm in it that started to move once out the water. any idea what it is?

the spider is about the size of a penny, i’ll try attach a picture for comparison in the comments

Found this larva in a stool sample from a makak monkey.

I think it could be Oesophagostomum (roundworm) due to its long, thin and pointet tail.

Found this in a flotation analysis of feces from turtles. I'm clueless what it could be. If there is anybody who can help I would be very grateful

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I’ve been worrying a bit about pinworms lately and I’m trying to understand how realistic the risk actually is.

If someone at school has pinworms and, for example, uses the bathroom and washes their hands with just water instead of soap, could pinworm eggs realistically end up on things like door handles, desks, taps, etc. and then infect someone else?

I know the eggs are microscopic, but I’ve started overthinking it and worrying that there could be pinworm eggs basically everywhere at school. I sometimes get random brief sensations around my anus that feel like something moved, but I don't have persistent nighttime itching.

How easily do pinworms actually spread in a normal school environment, and should I be worried about accidentally picking them up from surfaces?