Parasitic wasp larvae hatching from inside the living caterpillar host. The
female wasp will oviposit into the host’s body. The larvae will feed
inside the host until they are ready to pupate. Quite often the host is
dead by that point but if not, then the parasitoid will often eat its
way out of the host.
Ghost Plant, Monotropa uniflora. Ericaceae family. What an honor to find these rare beauties! They aren’t out in their full glory yet, but they are still breathtaking. These
plants completely lack chlorophyll and cannot do photosynthesis.
Instead, they get their nutrients from the fungi that are attached to
nearby conifers. Tiger Mountain, WA. 6/5/2015.
Science wasn’t actually certain how fungi
like cordyceps “hijacked” their host’s behavior, and we always kind of
assumed it was causing some simplistic damage to the brain.
As it turns out, it works much more elaborately and much MORE like
the dramatized sci-fi horror parasites constantly inspired by it.
These fungi integrate themselves on the cellular level with the
host’s tissues, actually seem to send signals to the host’s muscles and
even alter the host’s genes with their own.
All the while, THE BRAIN ISN’T INVADED AT ALL.
These fungi, all along, have been converting their hosts into
animal-fungal hybrids they control while the host’s brain and
consciousness remain helplessly alive and largely unaltered.
The Fungus That Turns Ants Into Zombies Is More Diabolical Than We Realized
A bullet ant infected with Cordyceps parasitic fungus. Tiputini, Ecuador.
Could a zombie apocalypse happen in real life? It already (kind of) does in nature — and not just to ants.
The Cordyceps Fungus
This parasitic fungus preys on insects, slowly invading and
overtaking its host. Some Cordyceps species can exact a degree of mind
control on its victim, forcing them to climb up high in their last
moments so the Cordyceps’ spores can fall down on more victims below.
Animal infected with Cordyceps fungus.
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