Editing Haemonchus contortus (section)

==Life cycle==
The adult female worm can release between 5,000 and 10,000 eggs, which are passed out in the faeces.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Emery |first1=David L. |last2=Hunt |first2=Peter W. |last3=Le Jambre |first3=Leo F. |title=Haemonchus contortus: the then and now, and where to from here? |journal=International Journal for Parasitology |date=November 2016 |volume=46 |issue=12 |pages=755–769 |doi=10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.07.001 |pmid=27620133 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Eggs then develop in moist conditions in the faeces and continue to develop into the L1 (rhabditiform), and L2 juvenile stages by feeding on bacteria in the dung. The L1 stage usually occurs within four to six days under the optimal conditions of {{convert|24–29|C|F|0}}. The L2 rhabditform sheds its cuticle and then develops into the L3 filiariform infective larvae. The L3 form has a protective cuticle, but under dry, hot conditions, survival is reduced.
Sheep, goats, and other ruminants become infected when they graze and ingest the L3 infective larvae. The infective larvae pass through the first three stomach chambers to reach the abomasum. There, the L3 shed their cuticles and burrow into the internal layer of the abomasum, where they develop into L4, usually within 48 hours, or preadult larvae. The L4 larvae then molt and develop into the L5 adult form. The male and female adults mate and live in the abomasum, where they feed on blood.