A BUG'S STRIFE
A DEADLY fungus that turns ants into zombies actually kills them by taking over their jaw muscles and locking them into a death grip, according to new research.
The Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungi feasts on the bodies of insects it inhabits and appears to control their minds but a recent study has found that the fungi don't initially colonise the brains of ants.
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This research has been reported in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Ants infected with the fungus have previously been observed sinking their jaws into a leaf or a twig and waiting to die.
A fungal stalk starts growing out of the ants head and will eventually release spores that rain down on the ants below and also infect them.
This is why some ants spot fungus victims in the early stages of their infection and carry them far away from the colony to die.
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Researchers recently conducted a study of carpenter ants to observe how the fungus works.
They inspected the jaw muscle fibres of infected ants using scanning electron microscopy and found that at the time of the ant's "death grip" these muscles are very swollen.
The fungus then destroys these muscles but doesn't seem to affect the communication system that controls the muscles.
It is still unknown how the fungus forces the ant's jaw into a death grip but tiny particles that look like little clusters of grapes have now been observed clinging to the muscle fibres, which could be responsible.
The fungus is mostly found infecting ants in tropical forests in Thailand, Brazil, Central America, and Africa.
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What do you think of this deadly zombie ant fungus? Let us know in the comments...
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