Worm Lifecycle
Human filarial nematode worms have complicated life cycles, which primarily consists of five stages. After the male and female worms mate, the female gives birth to live microfilariae by the thousands. The microfilariae are taken up by the vector insect (intermediate host) during a blood meal. In the intermediate host, the microfilariae molt and develop into third-stage (infective) larvae. Upon taking another blood meal, the vector insect injects the infectious larvae into the dermis layer of the skin. After about one year, the larvae molt through two more stages, maturing into the adult worms.
Read more about this topic: Filariasis
Famous quotes containing the word worm:
“For she has made me the laily worm
That lies at the fit o the tree,
An my sister Masery shes made
The machrel of the sea.”
—Unknown. The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea (l. 58)