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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Zombie cicadas" infected with mind-controlling fungus return to West Virginia
"Zombie cicadas" infected with mind-controlling fungus return to West Virginia
By Sophie Lewis
July 31, 2020 / 1:33 PM / CBS News
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When a male cicada is infected with Massospora, researchers found it flicks its wings like a female, a known mating call. This behavior attracts healthy male cicadas, facilitating the spread of the fungus, which contains chemicals including psilocybin, found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.
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Researchers described the gruesome details of the fungus' process as a "disturbing display of B-horror movie proportions." The spores eat away at the genitalia, butts and abdomens of the cicadas until they eventually fall off, replacing them with fungal spores a brutal process for the insects, which just spent more than a decade underground.
The cicadas begin to decay, but rather than immediately die, they fly around and infect others. Because of the infection's mind-controlling abilities, the insects appear to behave as if nothing is wrong.
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"They're very docile," Lovett said. "You can walk right up to one, pick it up to see if it has the fungus (a white to yellowish plug on its back end) and set it back down. They're not a major pest in any way. They're just a really interesting quirky insect that's developed a bizarre lifestyle."
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First published on July 31, 2020 / 1:33 PM
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)Scientifically-speaking, this is actually a pretty amazingly complex life-cycle for this fungus to have.
"B Horror Movie" is a very apt description.
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)soothsayer
(38,601 posts)mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)STOP TEH TRANS FUNGUS PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!111!
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)Theyre at age of consent in parts of the south (shall rise agin!) maybe, but not for this unnatural rump shaking, no sir!
If I see one of them with a sign that says you cant spell fungus without fun so help me imma git muh gun.
Cirque du So-What
(25,812 posts)It just adapts to situations and opportunities as they arise.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)nilram
(2,879 posts)mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)All the ones I've interacted with act like they're eat-up with something.
There's definitely a fungus among us.
KY..........