In the modern concept of “zombie” is a “living corpse”, which wakes up at night and goes to look for a victim. But ascomicot mushroom acts differently – it “paralyzes” the consciousness of the insect and, as it were commands them, and the “subordinate” insect is only a stage mushroom life.
Ascomicot mushroom, or cordyceps, is a special kind of mushroom, which is able to parasitize on insects. Most often victims this plant become ants. The dispute falls on the victim’s body, then it takes root and grows simply into the body of the unfortunate ant. At the same time, all roots secrete alkaloid substances, which, “anesthetize” the entire process and saturate the body of the insect. Once the roots reach the head, into the brain, on which before that affected alkaloids, they are introduced in large quantities.
A photo from open sources
After that, the victim is completely ready to fulfill the whims of the owner. The main objective of cordyceps is reproduction. therefore the subordinate ant leaves his family forever – he seeks An ideal breeding ground for the host.
And as soon as such a place is found, the ant perishes, and the mushroom, using the resources of a dead victim, prepares for reproduction: he Releases a box of spores directly from the head of the insect. When disputes reach the desired state, the box cracks and spores get enough sleep.
A photo from open sources
It is worth noting that all victims always die at a sufficient height, thereby they create the conditions for the “infection” of the greatest the number of insects that live below.
After the box cracked and the spores crumbled, everything repeated: infected insects “forget” about themselves and live in the benefit of ascomicot.
The victims of this “puppeteer” can be not only ants, but also flies, caterpillars and even butterflies.
Interesting fact: the genus Cordyceps has about 400 species, and the geography of the distribution of those species that parasitize on insects limited to China, Tibet, some areas Japan, less common in other eastern countries.
Mushrooms Insect Plants
