Periodic cicadas are odd enough, with their swollen red eyes and spooky mating sounds, but the Massospora cicadina fungus turns some of them into sex-crazed zombies. This unusual parasite makes amphetamines and uses cicadas as a means of sexual transmission. Matt Kasson, a mycologist at West Virginia University, and his colleagues are gathering samples around the country in order to examine this strange phenomena. The biggest known genome of a fungus transforms its host into a hypersexual vector for its spores without causing death to it. Despite being fascinating, Kasson advises against eating these sick cicadas because he found that they have a "bitter" and perhaps toxic flavor.
References:
The Associated Press. (2024, June 19). Collecting sex-crazed zombie cicadas: Scientists track bug-controlling fungus. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/zombie-cicadas-controlled-fungus-sex-crazed-rcna157956
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