Watch This Parasitic Fungus Erupt From An Ant's Head

abgsedapmalam · Post time 22-5-2014 08:57 PM

Watch This Parasitic Fungus Erupt From An Ant's Head

May 21, 2014 | by Janet Fang

Photo credit:       Camponotus leonardi ant with  an Ophiocordyceps unilateralis infection / David P. Hughes, Maj-Britt  Pontoppidan

      Once an ant has been sprinkled with its spores, the parasitic fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis penetrates the cuticle and begins to infect  the ant’s brain. It directs the ant upwards, where its deadly spores will have  the most reach. Once they’re high enough, the zombie ant bites down and grips  the stem with its mandible, anchoring them in place. The ant dies as the fungus  takes over its body, and eventually, the parasite’s large stalk erupts right  through the back of the ant’s head. When the parasite is done growing, its  deadly spores burst from the tip, dispersing more death to the jungle floor. The  cycle continues with any nearby ants.

      Here’s an amazing, eerily beautiful video of parasitic fungi and a poor  bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) colony. You can see the fruiting body  of the fungus erupt from an ant’s head around 1:02. The time-lapse compresses  the 3-week process into a few creepy seconds. (The genus name has since been  updated from Cordyceps to Ophiocordyceps.) From  the BBC:

      If infected individuals are discovered, the workers take them away far  from the colony. After all, the fungus can wipe out an entire colony. And not  just ants: Thousands of different types of parasitic fungus specialized on  individual species. As Sir David Attenborough mentions, parasites like these  stop any one animal from getting the upper hand. The more numerous the species  becomes, the more likely it will be attacked.

      These “graveyards  on the move” were described in a 2009 PLoS  ONE study.

      [Via BBC]

Image: David P. Hughes, Maj-Britt Pontoppidan via Wikimedia

Read more at http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/watch-parasitic-fungus-erupt-ants-head#dYp1pBryXsw4ru3c.99