Watch: Vampire Parasites Consume Host

A stunning new video shows an aggressive microscopic parasite consuming a small crustacean known as a copepod. Captured by independent scientist Richard R. Kirby, the footage recently received the Nikon Small World in Motion prize. Kirby made the video using a technique called darkfield microscopy which illuminates the subject while keeping the background black. In the video parasites called vampyrophyra pelagica can be seen actively invading their host and feeding on its cytoplasm from the inside out.