The Fungi That Turned Ants Into Zombies

This fungus was actually manipulating ants’ movements, forcing them to do something they’d never ordinarily do, something strange, yet specific…

Thanks to Franz Anthony (https://franzanth.com) and Dr. João Araújo for the excellent reconstructions of Ophiocordyceps and ancient ants.

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References:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/evo.13489?saml_referrer
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982219311649

50 Comments

  1. patz_trips on Instagram sells good stuff on August 25, 2022 at 3:38 am

    👆.👆.👆look up that handle, he ships worldwide , and he got >>shrooms, Dmt, lsd, mdma, cannabis,adhd,pcos,hhc ,kat ,psilocybin, Xanax,chocolate bars, he’s got a lot.🍄 💊🍄🍫🔌



  2. Guy H. on August 25, 2022 at 3:39 am

    Creepy! This is much worse than when wasps paralyze certain hosts, spiders/caterpillars/etc., to lay their eggs and feed off the host.



  3. This Guy on August 25, 2022 at 3:39 am

    Sounds like a fun guy…



  4. Chubb Rock on August 25, 2022 at 3:40 am

    imagine the headache those poor ants had



  5. CarrionCrow on August 25, 2022 at 3:41 am

    The fungus doesn’t brainwash them like "the Last of Us" fungi, but instead fires signals to the legs to make the ant move where it likes. The ant is essentially puppeteered to its death grip – and that somehow makes this horrible fate even worse.



  6. Bailey on August 25, 2022 at 3:42 am

    Ayo nice TLOU reference



  7. Don Memale on August 25, 2022 at 3:43 am

    Meanwhile Texas is using phorid flies to make even more ant zombies…



  8. PedroHPires on August 25, 2022 at 3:43 am

    Obrigado!



  9. Charles Hendricks on August 25, 2022 at 3:44 am

    awesome timing, Costa Rican Cubes just posted a short video on his channel showing a Cicada, dead, being consumed by most likely by some type of Cordyceps



  10. caique cardoso on August 25, 2022 at 3:44 am

    Wow this episode is so macabre…



  11. Professor Pesca on August 25, 2022 at 3:46 am

    I’m sure there was an episode of the X Files where humans get infected with a fungus and it erupts out of their throats. It scared the crap out of me as a 12 year old.



  12. stephanie parker on August 25, 2022 at 3:47 am

    Really glad we are not targeted by that fungus



  13. Hoffman the Milkman on August 25, 2022 at 3:47 am

    You can also see these zombified ants in an episode of Netflix’s Our Planet – a great docu-series which I’m sure you lot will love 😊



  14. Iiro Peltonen on August 25, 2022 at 3:50 am

    Gotta Love that Naughty Doc refeence at The end😂



  15. Ethan Spencer on August 25, 2022 at 3:51 am

    Death grips would be a cool name for an experimental rap group



  16. Agnes Mina on August 25, 2022 at 3:53 am

    EWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!



  17. Peter Charles on August 25, 2022 at 3:53 am

    The last of us, huh? After an episode about cordyceps…



  18. FuzzyAziraphale on August 25, 2022 at 3:58 am

    Just imagine how scary it would be if there were Ant versions of the clickers and bloaters from the Last Of Us.



  19. GlamourDonkey on August 25, 2022 at 3:58 am

    If my body is discovered encased in amber and I have fungi sprouting from my butt, I would still rather have my browsing data wiped.



  20. Babyman139 on August 25, 2022 at 3:58 am

    You’ll be missed for the month you guys are gone ❤️



  21. Nick S on August 25, 2022 at 4:01 am

    Blake: And if you’re an old-school sci-fi fan like I am, then I know exactly what you’re thinking…
    Me: That X-Files episode where the fungus manipulated Mulder and Scully’s minds!
    Blake: …Xenomorphs!
    Me: Oh… you meant *really* old-school



  22. Heather Saltas on August 25, 2022 at 4:01 am

    Yes! I thought xenomorphs before you even said it! 😂 I’m a need too lol



  23. Mathieu Leader on August 25, 2022 at 4:01 am

    the Antz movie should have used this fungal infection as part of the plot



  24. Matt Danger on August 25, 2022 at 4:02 am

    Wild that some ants farm fungi, and some fungi farm ants



  25. Sarah Leonard on August 25, 2022 at 4:02 am

    Blake’s reactions are just so… so adorable!



  26. Tom Rueda on August 25, 2022 at 4:03 am

    Well at least they’re not biting other ant to make more zombie, so even if they affect people it won’t be like zombie behavior we know



  27. timothymimeslayer on August 25, 2022 at 4:03 am

    Well, start removing genes one at a time from the fungus until the behavior is no longer seen?



  28. Christopher Reyes on August 25, 2022 at 4:05 am

    When ants have a better pandemic responses than humans 🤡



  29. Team Ninja Bug on August 25, 2022 at 4:06 am

    Turns out, the fungi don’t actually infect the brain as we once thought. Researchers looked into how the fungus distributes itself in the ant’s body and found the brain is left alone. Instead, the fungus goes for the muscle tissues. You know how horrifying that is? The fungus is manipulating the ant’s muscles, while the ant is very much aware and trapped in a body it can no longer control, no matter how hard it fights.



  30. Westrim on August 25, 2022 at 4:11 am

    8:04 I admire your restraint in withholding that reference until the end.



  31. renovatio on August 25, 2022 at 4:13 am

    just like russians



  32. Josh Wilson on August 25, 2022 at 4:14 am

    I like the Last of Us pun.



  33. Dracarmen Winterspring on August 25, 2022 at 4:18 am

    3:22 – I find it funny that in this map Japan ends up with what looks a lot like 3-colored mochi



  34. mr-cactus on August 25, 2022 at 4:18 am

    Okay, now I wanna see a zombie apocalypse movie played by ant actors.



  35. Joe GV. on August 25, 2022 at 4:19 am

    So research has been done to figure out exactly how the bugs are controlled. (November 8, 2017), researchers at Penn State University released new information in regards to this. They found the fungus grow in between the muscle fibers ans it allows them to control the movements. No fungal matter was found in the brain of the ant so they speculate that the ants are just watching their bodies go into autopilot.



  36. InfiltrateIndustries on August 25, 2022 at 4:19 am

    You ditched the (literally)
    Thank you!



  37. Proxima Centaur1 on August 25, 2022 at 4:25 am

    02:28 Such a precision mechanism. The ants are sent to die at a specific time of day and height off the ground. Nature inexorably executes.



  38. tdurran on August 25, 2022 at 4:28 am

    Don’t let anti-vaxers see this video. A whole new set of conspiracy theories may emerge!



  39. Roboprogs on August 25, 2022 at 4:28 am

    The First of Us?



  40. Bri Mundorff on August 25, 2022 at 4:28 am

    Please tell me I’m not the only one who saw this and thought of The Last of Us



  41. Invasion Animation on August 25, 2022 at 4:29 am

    This is how you know that fungus is dumb. It tries to infect ants yet moves away from the colony.



  42. Christopher Lee on August 25, 2022 at 4:29 am

    the "Last of Us" … I see what you did there … lol …



  43. stephanie parker on August 25, 2022 at 4:30 am

    Enjoy your summer break! 🙌🙂🌸



  44. Anastasia on August 25, 2022 at 4:31 am

    Something I often wonder about: Is it theoretically possible for a parasite to completely take over the body of a human-level intelligence? Science fiction style, not toxoplasmosis style where it mildly affects our behavior.



  45. William M on August 25, 2022 at 4:31 am

    Can we use this to naturally kill leaf cutter ants that can defoliate a tree in 1 night because I don’t want to use an insecticide that paralyzes their nervous system and may cause Parkinson’s disease.



  46. Ryan Kassel on August 25, 2022 at 4:33 am

    Enjoy your break!!!



  47. Damien Scanlon on August 25, 2022 at 4:34 am

    I love that you all even made a Last of Us reference!



  48. Abhijay Paul on August 25, 2022 at 4:35 am

    8:01 AHAHAHA



  49. Erik on August 25, 2022 at 4:35 am

    Science communicator and, as I found out today, pan LGBT+ advocate.

    Stay awesome, Blake!



  50. Doom Food on August 25, 2022 at 4:37 am

    They’re not zombified. The sadness i feel over how pop science caters to the lowest common denominator.