Let's hope this is NOT NEXT:
As if the world today isn’t strange enough, researchers have discovered a new population of cicadas that are being brutally infected by a parasitic fungus that controls their mind and forces them to infect other insects.
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 study published by PLOS Pathogens.
After infecting its host, the fungus results in “a disturbing display of B-horror movie proportions,” West Virginia University said in a press release.
First Massospora spores eat away at the cicada’s genitals, butt, and abdomen. They are then replaced with fungal spores used to transmit the fungus to other cicadas. From there, this new, fungal abdomen will slowly “wear away like an eraser on a pencil,” said study co-author Brian Lovett in the release.
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How the fungus manipulates the cicada
While almost a third, if not more, of their bodies are replaced with fungal tissue, infected cicadas continue to move around oblivious of their sickness. This is because the fungus manipulates the insects’ behavior to keep the host alive rather than killing them to maximize spore dispersal.
“If one of our limbs were taken out or if our stomach was slashed open, we would probably be incapacitated,” Kasson told CNN. “But infected cicadas, despite the fact that a third of their body has fallen off, continue to go about their activities like mating and flying as if nothing happened. This is really, really unique for insect killing fungi.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/03/us/zombie-cicadas-west-virginia-fungus-scn-trnd/index.htmlchanakam2020 posted the link in Global Chat recently, so he gets credit for alerting us to this danger.