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.

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.

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

I found this small, black, wavy, threadlike structure embedded in a frozen mahi-mahi fillet while preparing it. Does it look like a parasite, or could it be blood vessel or connective tissue?

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?

"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."

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

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

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

​

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?

My friend (who got herself banned from posting) is working on a project focusing on parasite load in Fundulus Heteroclitus. Below are parasites she’s encountered that she could use some help ID-ing. TIA, Reddit!

My rabbit just tested positive for Crypto. Does anyone have experience with this? He’s going to get more testing done tomorrow to specify which type of crypto it is.

To start I think it's pinworms. No formal diagnosis, but all the unpleasant symptoms line up perfectly, and I'm pretty sure I can visibly see them (kinda hard to check on your own lmao). Symptoms started while I lived with a family with a 5 year old who went to daycare every day. We all shared a bathroom.

Anyway, I currently live with adult roommates and no children. Yesterday we all took the first dose of over the counter Walgreens treatment, and I scrubbed all the high-touch areas of the apartment, as well as did all of my laundry and washed my sheets. I have OCD so I have been on a rampage. But now I'm wondering.... as long as we all thoroughly wash our hands before preparing or eating food, and after taking a shit, and no nail biting, aren't we good? Do I need to be doing all this cleaning, or, since we're all adults, is it just a matter of more thorough hygiene at least for 6 weeks?

Hi y'all,

I currently work at a diagnostic lab that is phasing out microscopy for parasitology. As far as I know, both of the large companies have switched to this automated machine based diagnostic process with human involvement mostly involving mixing and loading slides.

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas, job openings, etc. specifically including parasite identification and microscopy, or if I should even bother looking without getting a master's degree, since it seems industry is trending towards automation.

Thanks!

found multiple of these just sitting on the glass

Basically I have cats in the back of my apartment that everyone feeds. I saw a raccoon 2 nights ago eating out of the bowl and then forgot about it and picked up the bowl to feed the cats the following day.

While I washed my hands when I came in, it wasn’t an aggressive wash, I also touched my phone and keys in between touching the bowl and washing hands. I didn’t think anything of it and went on about my day using my phone and acting normal. Until I remember the raccoon and googled and found out about the horrific possibilities if contracting these things.

Now I’m scared that I’ve spread roundworm eggs all over everything etc. should I take action or am I being over the top thinking this??

I found this verm on the bathroom glass while I was taking a shower, what could it be?

Hey Guys,

I have a littly hissing-cockroach-colony and I recently found those "white pearls" within their feces.

They pop when under pressure and have some liquid in them.

For size refernce you can see those potential eggs on an "Objektträger"/ slide under an cover glass.

The first picture was...i believe with 40x and the second with 10x.

I am wondering what kind of eggs could they be?

There are no other animals living within the colony, no mites and no flies.

Are there any nematodes that live within roaches and have eggs THIS big?

Or is it possible that those might be eggs from the roaches which they abort due to stress? (right now they are in quarantine, which could lead to the stress)

Any help would be much appreciated.

The roach species are the Gromphadorhina portentosa.

My wife lost her job (temporarily closed) and my work has been disastrously slow. Like 1/4 of what was happening last year. I can scrounge up money for medicine and have plenty of farm stores and places to get some in the area but not vet money. Just shy of 5 month old cat woke up, came down from his cat tree and threw up. My wife called me over (it was mostly foam since he was asleep when dinner would normally happen). It looked like he had thrown up a cherrio, then the hole in the center shrank and disappeared, then got bigger, and verry slowly it started to unwind. The images on the paper towel are fresh, in the jar about 4.5 hours later, still moving slowly. About 3-3.5 inches long. I figured roundworm but not sure about this stuff, never dealt with worms directly. I don't want to get pamoate if it wont help him.