I saw a video on youtube about birds that eat slugs that climb to top of plants because they were infected by.

Question

I saw a video on youtube about birds that eat slugs that climb to top of plants because they were infected by some type of bacteria or worm in bird f***s. Can someone find me the youtube video of this that I saw, or find me the name of the cycle of this process?

Answer 1

I believe the species you are refering to is called Leucochloridium paradoxum and the youtube video is called 'alien snail'. Leucochloridium paradoxum is a parasitic flatworm that uses gastropods as intermediate host.  As seen in the video, the parasite hijacks the eyetenticle of a snail and displays bright pulsating colors that mimic a caterpillar or grub.  The snail is then easily seen by a bird and is eaten.  The bird is the actual host.  The worm reproduces sexually inside of the birds digestive system and releases its eggs in the birds droppings.  The droppings are then eaten by passing snails and the cycle repeats.