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Respect For the Fungus Overlords

The Loom
By Carl Zimmer
Jul 29, 2009 2:05 AMNov 5, 2019 4:43 AM

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When I first learned about the fungus Cordyceps, I refused to believe. I was working on a book about the glories of parasites, so I was already in the parasitic tank, you could say. But when I read about how Cordyceps infects its insect hosts, I thought, this simply cannot be. The spores penetrate an insect's exoskeleton and then work their way into its body, where fungus then starts to grow. Meanwhile, the insect wanders up a plant and clamps down, whereupon Cordyceps grows a long stalk that sprouts of the dead host's body. It can then shower down spores on unfortunate insects below. I mean, really.

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