| Leucochloridium Paradoxum - The Zombie Brain Worm |
Imagine, if you will, the everyday life of a garden snail. Prone to drying out, you
avoid the desiccating rays of the sun as you slither in the shadows under dense
foliage, eating anything chewable you find in your slimy path. One day, you catch a
whiff of fresh bird droppings; to you, a delicious and nutritious meal. Days later,
however, you start to feel strange - at least as strange as your incredible simple
nervous system can muster - and against all logic, you feel attracted to the hot,
bright daylight your kind has spent millions of years hiding from. You go about your
snaily business as you always would, but this time, you're completely exposed, both
to the sun and to the eyes of hungry birds. Your foul tasting slime has taught most
avians that snails are an unappetizing meal, but unfortunately for you, you no longer
look like a normal snail.
avoid the desiccating rays of the sun as you slither in the shadows under dense
foliage, eating anything chewable you find in your slimy path. One day, you catch a
whiff of fresh bird droppings; to you, a delicious and nutritious meal. Days later,
however, you start to feel strange - at least as strange as your incredible simple
nervous system can muster - and against all logic, you feel attracted to the hot,
bright daylight your kind has spent millions of years hiding from. You go about your
snaily business as you always would, but this time, you're completely exposed, both
to the sun and to the eyes of hungry birds. Your foul tasting slime has taught most
avians that snails are an unappetizing meal, but unfortunately for you, you no longer
look like a normal snail.
Those droppings you ate were swarming with the eggs of the parasitic flatworm,
Leucochloridium. Invading your simple little gastropod brain, the worms have
completely rewired your behavior, and with their colorful, pulsing "brood sacs"
crammed into your eye-stalks, your head now resembles a couple of fat, juicy insect
larvae - every bird's favorite.
Leucochloridium. Invading your simple little gastropod brain, the worms have
completely rewired your behavior, and with their colorful, pulsing "brood sacs"
crammed into your eye-stalks, your head now resembles a couple of fat, juicy insect
larvae - every bird's favorite.
You'll likely survive your eyestalks being ripped off, and eventually, your entire face
will grow back...as will the parasites. You're lucky evolution never granted you the
intellect to comprehend your new existence, enslaved by a worm in your brain to
have your eyes chewed off again and again.
will grow back...as will the parasites. You're lucky evolution never granted you the
intellect to comprehend your new existence, enslaved by a worm in your brain to
have your eyes chewed off again and again.
| Photo by Albus |
| ANNOUNCEMENT: LEUCOCHLORIDIUM ART GALLERY! |
If you've seen bogleech.com's fan-art galleries such as The Nuckelavee and the
Yara-ma-yha-who, you know where I'm going with this.
Until the middle of JULY 2009, I am accepting entries for the internet's very first
Leucochloridium fan-art gallery. Simply draw (or sculpt, or knit, or anything you
please) anything you want that pertains to the parasite. You can send me an
anthropomorphic, super-cartoonish or abstracted zombie snail, some other
creature infected with the parasite, a photo of yourself with homemade
worm-eyes...absolutely anything work of art you can think of that directly pertains to
this organism! E-mail it to bogleech@hotmail.com for inclusion in the gallery!
ALL submissions will be used!
Yara-ma-yha-who, you know where I'm going with this.
Until the middle of JULY 2009, I am accepting entries for the internet's very first
Leucochloridium fan-art gallery. Simply draw (or sculpt, or knit, or anything you
please) anything you want that pertains to the parasite. You can send me an
anthropomorphic, super-cartoonish or abstracted zombie snail, some other
creature infected with the parasite, a photo of yourself with homemade
worm-eyes...absolutely anything work of art you can think of that directly pertains to
this organism! E-mail it to bogleech@hotmail.com for inclusion in the gallery!
ALL submissions will be used!