What is the most common predator of the animal that is susceptible to the parasite Parelaphostrongylus tenuis and typically inhabit boreal forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates?
Parelaphostrongylus tenuis Parelaphostrongylus tenuis (also known as meningeal worm, brainworm, or moose illness) is a neurotropic nematode parasite common to white-tailed deer, "Odocoileus virginianus", which causes damage to the central nervous system. Moose ("Alces alces"), elk ("Cervus canadensis"), caribou ("Rangifer tarandus"), and mule deer ("Odocoileus hemionus") are also susceptible to the parasite but are aberrant hosts and are infected in neurological instead of meningeal tissue. The frequency of infection in these species increases dramatically when their ranges overlap high densities of white-tailed deer.
Heterogyna Heterogynaidae is a minor family (only eight described species in a single genus, Heterogyna) of small spheciform wasps occurring in Madagascar, Botswana, Turkmenistan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and the Eastern Mediterranean area. The majority are dark in color and range in size from approximately 1.5 to 5.0 mm. Most specimens have been collected in arid climates, but one species from Madagascar is known to occur in a humid forest habitat. Although males have functional wings, heterogynaid females are typically brachypterous, a trait which is unique among spheciform wasps. Wing venation is reduced in both sexes. All species are diurnal, with the exception of "H. nocticola". Other aspects of their biology are completely unknown, but details of their morphology have prompted researchers to hypothesize that they may be non-fossorial parasitoids adapted to hunt in tight spaces, such as under tree bark. This is speculative and has not yet been confirmed by actual observations of behavior. It is also possible that modifications of the female metasomal tergum VI and gonostyli may represent a unique prey transport mechanism, but this is also unconfirmed.