Ants in the Service of Parasites

Synopsis: The small liver fluke, also known as the lancet fluke, is a common parasite of herbivorous animals, particularly sheep and cattle. During its development it passes through two intermediate hosts, a snail and an ant. In this complicated life cycle the part played by the ant is of particular interest. Ants have undergone highly specialised adaptation to their host function, with various changes in behaviour which are of crucial importance in the development cycle of the lancet fluke. The infected ants hold fast by their mandibles to the leaves and flowers of pasture plants and are thus ingested by the ultimate host as it grazes on the meadows. This behaviour and the mechanisms which evoke it are depicted in macro and micro cinematographic sequences.*
Language: English
Country: Germany
Medium: Film; Film. 16mm. sd. col. 25 min.
Technical information: Black-and-white / Sound
Year of production: 1964
Availability: Free loan
Subjects: Biology
Keywords: ants; liver fluke; parasitic animals; zoology

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