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How a Zombie Fungus Takes Over Ants’ Jaws to Deliver a Death Bite

By Jennifer Walter
Jul 18, 2019 9:31 PMDec 23, 2019 4:42 AM
Carpenter Ant Cordyceps Fungus - Wikimedia Commons
An ant infected by a cordyceps fungus with a stroma emerging from the back of its head. (Credit: David P. Hughes, Maj-Britt Pontoppidan/Wikimedia Commons)

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Forget The Walking Dead – there’s a real zombie outbreak happening right now — though it’s more like the crawling dead.

Ants, moths, grasshoppers, wasps and hundreds of other species of insects regularly fall victim to a deadly parasite that hijacks their bodies and brains, causing strange behaviors and eventually leading them to their deaths.

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