The Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus has just one goal: self-propagation and dispersal. To do so, the parasitic fungus hijacks ants ’ bodies, essentially turning them into zombies.

In the dense forests of South America and Southeast Asia, a parasite operates with chilling precision. Ophiocordyceps ...

Fungus-infected “zombie” ants are known to scale a plant, sink their jaws into a leaf or twig and wait to die while the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungi feast on the insects’ bodies. Eventually, a ...

A zombie cicada fungus, _Massospora cicadina_, has consumed the rear end of this periodical cicada, replacing it with a 'plug' of chalky spores. Matt Kasson, CC BY-ND Is a zombie apocalypse caused by ...

Aristos is a Newsweek science and health reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He is particularly focused on archaeology and paleontology, although he has covered a wide variety of topics ranging ...

A parasitic fungus that reproduces by manipulating the behavior of ants emits a cocktail of behavior-controlling chemicals when encountering the brain of its natural target host, but not when ...

Tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva. Credit: Alex Wild/University of Texas at Austin The Tawny crazy ant (sometimes called the Rasberry crazy ant) is an invasive species originally found in South ...

A mind-controlling parasite turns ants into zombies, forcing them to climb to the tops of shrubs, bite down and die. Now, a new study finds that the fungus acts like a puppeteer, somehow "pulling" the ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Tawny crazy ants, a voracious species native to the Caribbean coast ...

This discovery is one of many cases where fungi alter host behavior to facilitate their own reproduction. Ophiocordyceps, which infects ants, forces them to climb to elevated locations before killing ...