Robots, mass extinctions and now, zombies: We have so many horrific visions of humanity’s impending doom to choose from these days. National Geographic is reporting that ants in Brazil are being infected with a mind-controlling fungus that leads them to an area where the parasite can most rapidly reproduce, then kills its host.
This isn’t just one rouge zombie-fungus either; four distinct species have been identified, all capable of controlling ants to do their bidding. It’s not easy to tell if your ant farm has gone all 28 Days Later either; an infected ant doesn’t show too many signs of being infected until a stalk starts growing out of their head a few days after death.
The leader of the study, David Hughes, an entomologist at Penn State University, said that Brazil’s zombie ant-pocalypse might not be alone, and there could be thousands of these species all around the world, targeted to infect different species of ant. Other insects can also become carriers of the fungus, scientists say.
Thankfully, the fungus appears to be limited to the bug world for now and, barring any sudden, Hollywood-esque mutation, humans seem to be safe. Still, it might be worth buying some emergency bug spray, just to stay on the safe side.
[via National Geographic]
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