A parasitic worm has turned this snail into a "zombie" that mimics caterpillars to be eaten by a bird, where it can reproduce inside its GI tract. (It's called Leucochloridium, and it's a parasitic worm that invades a snail's eyestalks, where it pulsates to imitate a caterpillar (in biology circles this is known as aggressive mimicry—an organism pretending to be another to lure prey or get itself eaten). via twitter: Fascinating @fasc1nate | Roar Wildlife News

Amber snails, Succinea, are often hosts to a parasitic flatworm called Leucochloridium paradoxum. The flatworm takes control of the motor neurons in snail’s eye stalks to create these pulsating patterns. . The patterns of the “zombie snail” mimic a caterpillar, in a bid to attract hungry birds flying by. All in the hopes that a bird will snatch up the eye-catching snack and provide the flatworm with a cozy intestinal tract where it can reproduce. . Incredibly, the host snails can survive this or