Some recent work has discovered a fungus that infects carpenter ants, turning them into zombies. The study appears online in the journal PLoS One.
- Evans HC, Elliot SL, Hughes DP, 2011 Hidden Diversity Behind the Zombie-Ant Fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis: Four New Species Described from Carpenter Ants in Minas Gerais, Brazil. PLoS ONE 6(3): e17024. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017024
The ants are infected by the parasitic fungus Ophiocordyceps unliateralis living on four species of carpenter ant (Camponotini sp.) in the Zona da Mata region of Brazil and enter a zombie like state within a week. Each species of fungus is different in size and shape, and adapted to live only in one particular species.
The zombie or brain-manipulating fungus alters the behavior of the ant host, causing it to die in an exposed position, typically clinging onto and biting the adaxial surface of shrub leaves, where the conditions are ideal for the fungus to propagate.
The fungus then grows out of the head of the ant, releasing spores into the air, which rain down onto unsuspecting ants and the forest floor.
The fungus grows out of the head of the dead ant, releasing spores into the air (David Hughes)
The specter of a similar fungus with mammals is the stuff of nightmares or horror films.
