ZAP’S FACTS!
FUNGI

A fungus called Cordyceps turns ants into zombies before killing them.

Spores infect an ant, take over its brain, and force it to climb up high so the fungus can spread.

2 min read
A fungus called Cordyceps turns ants into zombies before killing them.
THE FULL STORY

Deep in tropical jungles, a fungus called Ophiocordyceps does something so creepy that scientists still find it hard to believe. Its spores land on an ant, sprout, and grow inside the ant’s body. As the fungus takes over, it hijacks the ant’s behaviour. The infected ant abandons its colony, climbs up a plant, and bites down hard on a leaf vein.

There the ant dies, jaws locked in place. The fungus then sprouts a long stalk out of the ant’s head and rains spores down onto the forest floor - perfectly positioned to infect more ants below. Each Cordyceps species specialises in one specific kind of insect host.

This nightmare creature is what inspired the video game and TV series “The Last of Us.” Luckily for us, real Cordyceps can’t infect mammals. Our bodies are too warm and our immune systems are too different for the fungus to take hold. Lucky us.

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