Move the fear mushrooms that parasitize on the head of ants and move to places favoring germination and also operate until time to die

As a plant that parasitizes insectsCordyceps sinensisAlthough it is well known, a kind of the genus Ophiocordyceps that germinates parasitizingly on an ant, takes over the spirit of the host and moves it to a place advantageous for survival and operates so that the host dies at the most suitable time It has been found that it has characteristics.

Ali parasitized on the mushroom said that nearly all individuals will reach the final point to die near noon and will die at sunset. The reality of the terrible mushrooms that not only control the ant's behavior but also manipulate its place and time is from the following.Zombie Ants Bite at High Noon, Die at Sunset | Parasites & Mind Control | LiveScience

Mind Control: Gallery of Zombie Ants | Parasites & amp; Fungi | LiveScience

Ants that mushroom broke through the head.


According to researchers, ants parasitized by this mushroom took about 3 to 9 days to become completely dead after being infested, until then it has contacted other ants in their own nest for a while, and also eats are eaten, etc. It is said that she leads the life of the street.

When the time of germination comes, Ali walks around like a drunk, is guided to a leaf at a low position, bites in the leaf vein behind the leaf, and it leads to death as it is. Observing the parasitized 16 ants, they all stopped in a state of biting on the leaves at noon, and it was found that there was relevance to the situation of the sun, temperature, humidity, etc. when it reached a stopped state Thing.


A scene where ants parasitized and like zombies are biting on the neck of another already dead ant.


According to David Hughes, a researcher at the State University of Pennsylvania, "It is a remarkable phenomenon that a correlation in arrival at a dead place is a remarkable phenomenon (even manipulating ants) In addition, "It is noon that Ali bite the leaf vein at last, but in fact the ant is living until sunset, probably breaking through the ant's head and germinating It's a strategy to do the process of doing it during the cool night. "


Furthermore, Mr. Hughes observed 42 parasitized ants and dissected some of them, and finally the head of ants biting in the veins was already filled with mushroom cells, and furthermore the lower jaw And the muscles of the jaw were atrophied.

According to Mr. Hughes, "Two actions are performed: opening the lower jaw and bite after opening the lower jaw when the biting motion is a normal case, but if it is a case that bites at the end when it is parasitic, only the action of closing the lower jaw It is "It is becoming. This seems to prevent the fixing of the dead ants' jaws from loosening, and it seems that mushrooms suck up calcium in the muscles and create a state similar to rigor after death.


I saw microscopic spores of parasitic mushrooms.


An ant that is dying after breaking through the mushroom at the back of the leaf.


In the movie below, it is recorded how the parasitized ant walks like drunk and how mushrooms break through the head and germinate.

YouTube - Cordyceps: attack of the killer fungi - Planet Earth Attenborough BBC wildlife