What could be the most brutal way for an insect to die?
Being thwacked by a human?
Snatched by a slimy reptilian tongue?
How about having your brain overrun by a deadly parasite
while being eaten alive?
It's probably that one.
This is the cordyceps fungus
and it survives by turning insects into zombies.
Not that kind of zombie. But it's pretty rough.
Not gonna lie to you.
Animal zombies don’t eat their family and friends.
They lose control over their bodies and behavior
when infected by parasitic fungi called cordyceps.
Over 400 varieties of cordyceps infect
as many as 10 different insect groups.
Some specialize in one kind of insect,
like carpenter ants.
Others aren't quite that picky.
All the cordycep wants is a safe place to raise its kids.
It reproduces by dispersing spores in the air.
These spores enter the bodies of
its unsuspecting host by clinging to their exoskeletons.
Over the next four to five days, the fungus spores grow
by feeding on its host's organs.
But the insect’s behavior shows no sign of pain.
It get increasingly hyperactive, hyper sexual
or zombie-like.
Eventually it'll be trigged to head to a more
humid micro-climate,
that’s better suited to the development of the fungus.
You’d think the cordyceps control the minds
of these insects by infecting the brain cells.
But that’s not the case.
Instead, the spores hack the nervous system
using bioactive compounds.
This allows it to release dopamine
to reward specific behaviors.
That’s a good boy.
Other cordycep spores work by altering an insect’s DNA.
If this doesn't sound like an alien invasion
I don't know what does.
An infected ant feels compelled to climb a high
branch and bite into a leaf or stem with all its strength.
The growing fungus spores eat up the last of the ant’s
internal organs as it stays in place anchored by its bite.
This vantage point offers optimum light and humidity
for the cordyceps to mature over the next three weeks.
The ant eventually dies and the fungus
blooms out of its head.
Guess I know what I'm going to be for next Halloween
Cordyceps fungus.
It's now ready to disperse more spores that latch on to
other ants passing by.
The cordyceps fungus can easily wipe out
entire ant colonies.
But many ants can be seen licking
the spores off themselves.
They know what the fungus is capable of.
They also drive infected infected members
of the colony away to protect the majority.
Bodysnatching is not all that uncommon
in the animal kingdom.
Another parasitic fungus, massospora
likes to infect periodical cicadas.
These cicadas spend the first 13 to 17 years
of their lives underground.
In their final weeks, they surface to find a mate.
The mossospora hijacks their bodies
and starts feeding on their organs.
Soon, their rear half falls off and is replaced
by the fungus itself.
It pumps cicada full of hallucenogenics
like amphetamine and psilocybin.
It is a magic mushroom omlette, isn't it?
Yep, that’s the same stuff found in magic mushrooms.
We will never know how many double rainbows
the now frisky and energetic cicada sees,
but we do know that the chemicals
help repress the pain.
As it flies around behaving badly, spores rain out of
its rear end infecting more cicadas.
Sure enough, some people have thought of
eating these cicadas.
That is a terrible idea.
The potential for a mind-altering experience
requires you to ingest dozens of them,
and the cicadas might also be full of mercury
from their time underground,
or cause allergic reactions.
The only trip on offer here is one to the hospital.
I'm freaking out man.
On the other hand, eating cordyceps might improve
the health of your kidneys and immune system.
Ironic.
Their use is common in Chinese medicine
and you can even buy them as supplements.
Wondering what other animals might
spruce up your health?
We have that covered in another episode
of Crazy Creatures.
Feeding on their hosts while controlling their minds
is what these animals do.
And that’s why they’re Crazy Creatures.