Ask a Prepper
ask a prepper survival every day
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
  • Home
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Prepping
  • Survival Knowledge
  • How To’s
  • Food
  • Store
  • Staff
  • About Claude Davis
  • Home
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Prepping
  • Survival Knowledge
  • How To’s
  • Food
  • Store
  • Staff
  • About Claude Davis
No Result
View All Result
Ask a Prepper
No Result
View All Result
Home Survival Knowledge

The First Detected Zombie Fungus! in Ants

C. Davis by C. Davis
December 11, 2014
1
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

After the “zombie ant fungus” kills a victim, it grows a stalk called the stroma, which protrudes from the ant cadaver.

A large round structure, the ascoma, forms on the stroma. Infectious spores then develop in the ascoma and are released onto the forest floor below, where they can infect foraging ants from the colony.

“After climbing vegetation and biting the veins or margins on the underside of leaves, infected ants die, remaining attached to the leaf postmortem, where they serve as a platform for fungal growth,” says lead author Raquel Loreto.

Previous research shows that the fungus, Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis, controls the behavior of carpenter ant workers—this is why it is called “zombie” – to die with precision, says Loreto, a doctoral candidate in entomology, Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

The fungus grows a stalk, called the stroma, which protrudes from the ant cadaver. A large round structure, known as the ascoma, forms on the stroma. Infectious spores then develop in the ascoma and are discharged onto the forest floor below, where they can infect foraging ants from the colony.

This fungal reproductive activity must take place outside the ant colony, in part because of the ants’ social immunity, which is collective action taken to limit disease spread, explained study co-author David Hughes, assistant professor of entomology and biology, Penn State.

“Previous laboratory studies have shown that social immunity is an important feature of insect societies, especially for ants,” Hughes said. “For the first time, we found evidence of social immunity in ant societies under field conditions.”

Bulletproof home“Ants are remarkably adept at cleaning the interior of the nest to prevent diseases,” Hughes said. “But we also found that this fungal parasite can’t grow to the stage suitable for transmission inside the nest whether ants are present or not. This may be because the physical space and microclimate inside the nest don’t allow the fungus to complete its development.”

“We limited our survey to the immediate area surrounding the nest because this is the zone the ants must walk through to leave and return to the colony,” Loreto said. “To better understand the path worker ants took, we measured and mapped in 3-D the trails formed by the ants, and that allowed us to determine spatial location of potential new hosts, which would be on the foraging trails.”

By measuring the position of manipulated ants and plotting these locations with respect to the nest, the researchers established that infected ants die on the “doorstep” of the colony.

“What the zombie fungi essentially do is create a sniper’s alley through which their future hosts must pass,” Hughes said. “The parasite doesn’t need to evolve mechanisms to overcome the effective social immunity that occurs inside the nest. At the same time, it ensures a constant supply of susceptible hosts.”

Could this fungus spread to humans? If genetically modified and used as a war weapon, can you imagine the destruction this disease can cause?

Sources: Penn State

Photo Credits: David Huges

You may also like:

Rechargeable Emergency Items To Always Have In The House

Three Powerful Remedies To Keep On Hand In A Crisis (Video)

9 Hiding Spots In Your House Where Looters Always Look First

Homesteading While You Are Sick For A Long Period Of Time

24 Prepping Items I Don’t Spend Money On

Tags: newsteotwawki
ShareTweetPin

Comments 1

  1. red ant says:
    4 years ago

    I’ve seen this on tv along time ago. yes this would be a very bad weapon.

    Did you like this comment?
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

FOLLOW US ON:

PREPPER RECOMMENDS

HOW AN EMP WILL AFFECT YOUR STATE

HOW TO GET 295 POUNDS OF EXTRA FOOD FOR JUST $5 A WEEK

THE FIRST STATES THAT WILL GO DOWN IN A CRISIS. DO YOU LIVE IN THE RED ZONE?

IF YOU HAVE THIS ON YOUR PROPERTY, HIDE IT IMMEDIATELY

SIMILAR TO MORPHINE: THE BEST NATURAL PAINKILLER THAT GROWS IN YOUR BACKYARD

YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE AN EMP ATTACK WITHOUT THIS

Banner Generator

RECOMMENDED READS:

BEST PREPPER BOOKS – 9 BOOKS TO SURVIVE ANY CRISIS!

THE PIONEER DISH THAT NEVER ENDS: PERPETUAL SOUP (STEW)

HOW TO TIE AND USE A BOWLINE KNOT

LEARN IN 5 MINUTES HOW TO WHISTLE WITH YOUR FINGERS REALLY LOUD

$5 DEPRESSION-ERA RECIPES

HOW TO MAKE POTTED MEAT

A NAVY SEAL’s BUG-IN GUIDE: BOOK REVIEW



Banner TLW2

How to looter-proof your property

This House is Actually The Safest Place On Earth

The Good Prepper Beef



Logo Header

Whether you’re a seasoned survivalist or just starting your preparedness journey, Ask a Prepper offers practical advice, time-tested skills, and expert insights to keep you and your family safe. Learn how to thrive in any situation with proven techniques for food preservation, homesteading, defense, and more.

Latest Posts

what is morse code

What Is Morse Code?

May 19, 2025
How to Purify Water Inside a Car When SHTF (Without Fire or Electricity)

How to Purify Water Inside a Car When SHTF (Without Fire or Electricity)

May 19, 2025
DIY Poor Man’s Smoker

DIY Poor Man’s Smoker

May 16, 2025

POPULAR ARTICLES

US FALLOUT SHELTER MAP

7 “SAFE” US STATES THAT MIGHT SOON BE A TARGET

15 ITEMS FEMA DOESN’T WANT YOU TO HAVE

IF YOU HAVE THIS IN YOUR PANTRY, THROW IT AWAY IMMEDIATELY!

FOLLOW US ON:

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

PATH TO SURVIVAL

THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

TRUE PREPPER

Copyright © 2014-2025 Ask a Prepper
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact

Manage Consent

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site, we will assume that you are happy with it. Privacy Policy

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
  • Home
  • All Articles
  • Store
  • About Claude Davis
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2014-2025 Ask a Prepper
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Contact