A fly is going about its day, buzzing here, buzzing there—but then, it starts behaving weirdly. Its movements become sluggish; its abdomen swells. Its body sprouts white fuzz. Around sunset, there’s a ...

The new Ophiocordyceps species, found only in flies, are related to the pathogen featured in the video game and TV series ...

An ant and fly from the Cretaceous period offer insights into the history of Ophiocordyceps, the fungal parasite made popular ...

This week, see zombie fungi trapped in an amber fossil, explore the sun’s hidden south pole, meet tool-using whales that ...

In the video game The Last of Us and its spin-off HBO series, humans fight to survive against cordyceps, a parasitic fungus that turns its hosts into zombies. While the infections are wildly ...

A TEAM of scientists claim to have created the world’s lightest mind control device – for bees. The tiny brain controller ...

Sneaky chemistry by a real-life “Last of Us” Cordyceps fungus mind controls its zombie insect victims by convincing them they’re starving.

These insects, dubbed “zombie cicadas,” are under the influence of Massospora, a psychedelic fungus which contains chemicals such as those found in hallucinogenic mushrooms, according to a new ...

A psychedelic fungus that eats away the genitals of cicadas turns them sex-mad to help spread it further -- and the zombie insects are reportedly expected among Brood X that is emerging in New York.

Insects Get ready for sex-crazed zombie cicadas known as ‘flying salt shakers of death’ The fungus makes them try to mate with everything they encounter ...

Ophiocordyceps taking over the body of an ant. Credit: Shutterstock It’s zombie season! At least if you’re watching the new season of the fungal thriller “The Last of Us,” airing right now on Max, ...

This article was originally published with the title “ Zombie Insects: A Q&A about a Sinister Virus ” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 305 No. 5 (November 2011) doi:10.1038 ...