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RE: Ants. Are. Amazing! - Part 1
No doubt about it. Ants are really really cool! The most interesting fact I've read recently regarding ants is concerning a type of fungus which can control infected ants. It forces them to climb as high as possible before the fruiting mushroom erupts from the ants head showering the surrounding area with spores. Without this climb the fungus wouldn't be able to spread nearly as far away. Zombie ants!
Yep, I already wrote about it in detail in a previous post. Not only that, but there is a separate cordyceps fungus for each available insect in the forest!
There's another zombie ant parasite that is even weirder. It turns the ant into a zombie so that it behaves normally in the day, but at night, instead of returning to the nest, it is forced to climb up a stalk of grass and wait there all night, in an effort to be eaten by grazing cattle. If no cattle comes, it'll return and start its day like usual until the next night...
Ah, seems you have it covered! Wild facts man! Brilliant!
Amazing follow up fact and thank you for the proper name of the fungi. I'll be a religious follower of your writing going forward! :)
Haha that's great to hear. Though it's not all science stuff. Mostly, though
They're called cordyceps and have amazing properties when ingested. In fact, China has been providing Cordyceps to all their Olympic athletes to improve the performance! I take them for pre-workouts :)
I always wondered how the zombie apocalypse would begin...
Already has!