Its UGLY!

  I am one that tries to find the beauty in everything.  Sometimes, that loveliness can be quite hidden but after a bit of observation, it can be found.  It may not be an outward appearance sort of beauty but rather an inner beauty that becomes apparent.  Still, today, I found something UGLY!  I mean...UGLY. UGLY!  In fact, even though I sat and watched the critter for nigh on a half hour, I could not, for the life of me, find even a bit of attractiveness.  It was just ugly in so many ways.

  The critter that caught my attention today, has done so in the past, as well.  Usually, I become aware of the critter's presence when it bites me.  That is not fun.  Being bitten by something that eats the body organs of other critters sort of gives me the heebie-jeebies, to say the least.  A Cymothoa exigua or tongue-eating louse decided that my finger must taste mighty fine because it latched onto it and refused to let go.  I had caught minnows for Moe, the heron, and inadvertently picked up one that had the louse on it.  Ouch!  Those things hurt!  So, I had to study the critter for a bit....before I smashed it.

  The tongue-eating louse is a weird critter.  They are born as males and reside in the gills of certain fish (in today's case, menhaden).  They grow by feeding on tidbits of what the fish eats.  Once they become full grown, some have the ability to change sexes to become a females.  (The one today was definitely a female and I will explain that later.)   Weird...but it gets weirder!  Once the guy becomes a gal, she crawls up from the gills to the throat of the host fish and latches onto the tongue.  She makes a small incision in the base of the tongue and starts to drink the blood.  This causes the fish's tongue to dry up and fall off but the story does not end there!  The evil-hearted louse remains latched onto the stub of a tongue and literally becomes a working organ of the fish.  The louse acts as a tongue and feeds upon whatever the fish eats.

  Now that female is full grown and has her funky little "home" and a steady job, those lackadaisical males that are left in the gills, decide to mate with her so this whole scene can be repeated.  Once she becomes pregnant, she eats to support her growing body until it is time to give birth.  She gives birth to a bunch of little male critters that climb into the gills of the fish.   In the case of my critter, she was definitely a female.  If you look closely at her extended belly, you can actually see her babies through the stretched skin.  She was getting ready to give birth!  No matter what, you cannot tell me there is beauty within that critter!  It bites!  It eats tongues!  It is just down right ugly!!