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Zombie Ants

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Topic: Zombie Ants
Posted By: Mack
Subject: Zombie Ants
Date Posted: 10 March 2011 at 8:56pm

“Zombie” ants fall victim to mind-control fungus

By http://news.yahoo.com/bloggers/mike-krumboltz - Mike Krumboltz
Thu Mar 10, 11:52 am ET

'Zombie ants' may sound like the title of an Ed Wood movie, but, according to http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/yblog_upshot/od_yblog_upshot/storytext/zombie-ants-fall-victim-to-mind-control-fungus/40606581/SIG=13r92k136/*http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/pictures/110303-zombie-ants-fungus-new-species-fungi-bugs-science-brazil/ - National Geographic , they are quite real.

Oddly, there's nothing very zombie-like about the actual ants. It's only when a particular fungus takes over the ant's brain that things get weird.

Once the "stalk of the newfound fungus species Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani infects an ant, the ant gives up control over its own body. After the fungus is in control, it forces the ant to scamper toward "a location ideal for the fungi to grow and spread their spores." Then, it's lights out for the ant. Who knew a fungus could be so diabolical?

These wild discoveries were made by a group in Brazil headed by entomologist David Hughes. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/yblog_upshot/od_yblog_upshot/storytext/zombie-ants-fall-victim-to-mind-control-fungus/40606581/SIG=13r92k136/*http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/pictures/110303-zombie-ants-fungus-new-species-fungi-bugs-science-brazil/ - National Geographic published a series of pictures of ants that have "lost their minds" to the fungus. You can check out a sample of them below. Not for the squeamish.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20110310/od_yblog_upshot/zombie-ants-fall-victim-to-mind-control-fungus - Link



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Replies:
Posted By: DaveEllis
Date Posted: 10 March 2011 at 8:57pm
this article came out in august of 2010.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/aug/18/zombie-carpenter-ant-fungus - http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/aug/18/zombie-carpenter-ant-fungus

i am disappoint


Posted By: Reb Cpl
Date Posted: 11 March 2011 at 9:34am
The worst part is that there are no high rise ant hills for the hold-outs to hide in. 

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Posted By: JohnnyHopper
Date Posted: 11 March 2011 at 9:50am
There is video of this occuring in the BBC Planet Earth series from 2006.



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My shoes of peace have steel toes.


Posted By: Rofl_Mao
Date Posted: 11 March 2011 at 6:06pm
I hate ants.



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