Quote from: Icarus on January 24, 2025, 06:00:27 AMAnother clever ploy.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/k_QN8h3V92U (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/k_QN8h3V92U)
I've heard about this fungus. Definitely on the bizarre and macabre side of life. Thanks for the reminder,
Icarus. :lol:
I'm dubious of the images used in that video short, comparing to the images on the Wikipedia page for
Ophiocordyceps (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps). The description there of the life cycle of
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is edifying. :zombie:
Except that ants fulfill some of natures needs, I would encourage the disease to kill all those little demons.
My two most favored bugs are Mantis and Dragonflies, both of which do good work.
Agreed, both are splendid and neither bother much with people, unlike the wasps who also prey on pests but can be pests themselves.
On the brain-rot fungus front, a recently discovered species which infects spiders.
"Newly discovered fungal species makes zombies of cave spiders on island of Ireland" |
Phys.org (https://phys.org/news/2025-01-newly-fungal-species-zombies-cave.html)
Quote(https://i.imgur.com/TTQ7fGQ.jpg)
The new fungus Gibellula attenboroughii on the orb-weaving cave spider. Credit: CABI
Dr. Harry Evans, Emeritus Fellow at CAB International, led scientists—including from the Natural History Museum of Denmark and Royal Botanical Gardens Kew—in a study to investigate the identity of a fungus found on a spider during filming of the BBC Winterwatch series in Northern Ireland. The work is published in the journal Fungal Systematics and Evolution.
Based on both morphological and molecular evidence, the fungus was confirmed as a novel species and "named after the broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough, a pioneer of BBC natural history programs, who—in his role as controller of BBC 2—helped to develop the Natural History Unit; leading, indirectly, to the present nature series during which the new species was first discovered."
Subsequently, the spider host was identified as the orb-weaving cave spider, Metellina merianae (Tetragnathidae: Araneae), and—through the help of a local speleologist—further specimens of the new species, Gibellula attenboroughii, were found in cave systems in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as on a related spider, Meta menardi, occupying different ecological niches within the caves.
Like the type specimen, originally located on the ceiling of a gunpowder store, all the infected spiders were positioned on the roof or walls of the caves. These normally reclusive spiders left their lairs or webs and migrated to die in exposed situations, essentially, mirroring the behavior of ants infected by fungi of the genus Ophiocordyceps previously reported from the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil.
[Continues . . . (https://phys.org/news/2025-01-newly-fungal-species-zombies-cave.html)]
The paper is open access:
"The araneopathogenic genus Gibellula (Cordycipitaceae: Hypocreales) in the British Isles, including a new zombie species on orb-weaving cave spiders (Metainae: Tetragnathidae)" |
Fungal Systematics and Evolution (https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wfbi/fuse/pre-prints/content-f1_fuse_vol15_art7;jsessionid=argc5h4udce3t.x-ic-live-02)
QuoteAbstract:
The genus Gibellula (Cordycipitaceae: Hypocreales) comprises species pathogenic on and specific to spider hosts. Here, we report on the occurrence of a novel species infecting cave-dwelling, orb-weaving spiders of the sub-family Metainae (Tetragnathidae) in the British Isles.
The new species, Gibellula attenboroughii is described and illustrated and its ecology is discussed; leading to the conclusion that infected spiders exhibit behavioural changes similar to those reported for zombie ants.
The hidden diversity of the genus Gibellula in the British Isles is further highlighted based on fungarium records and literature searches. Two spider pathogens, previously assigned to the genus Torrubiella, are now transferred to the genus Gibellula, based on their Granulomanus synasexual morphs, in accordance with the one fungus-one name initiative: Gibellula albolanata comb. nov. and G. aranicida comb. nov.
Fossilized in amber, insects infected with something along the lines of
Ophiocordyceps.
"Fossil fungi trapped in amber reveal ancient origin of parasitic zombie-ants" |
Phys.org (https://phys.org/news/2025-06-fossil-fungi-amber-reveal-ancient.html)
QuoteChinese Academy of Sciences researchers report that fossilized entomopathogenic fungi from mid-Cretaceous amber reveal some of the oldest direct evidence of parasitic relationships between fungi and insects, suggesting that Ophiocordyceps fungi originated approximately 133 million years ago and underwent early host shifts that shaped their evolution.
Entomopathogenic fungi have evolved extraordinary ways to turn insects into unwitting accomplices in their own demise. Among the most famous are the "zombie ant fungi," Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which infect carpenter ants in tropical rainforests. After infecting the ant's body, the fungus hijacks the host's nervous system, compelling it to abandon the safety of its nest.
The ant becomes a macabre six-legged marionette, compelled to climb a plant to a height above the colony, where it clamps its jaws onto a leaf. Locked into a final death grip, the ant dies while the fungus slowly consumes its tissues. After a while, a spore-producing stalk erupts grotesquely from the back of the ant's head, scattering infectious spores down onto the forest floor to restart the cycle with fresh victims.
[. . .]
In the study, "Cretaceous entomopathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect–fungal associations," published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, researchers described two newly identified fungal species preserved in approximately 99-million-year-old Kachin amber.
One of the two fossil fungi described in the study, Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae, occurred in association with an infected ant pupa encased in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber dated to about 99 million years ago. Researchers assigned the ant host to the extinct genus Gerontoformica, belonging to the subfamily Sphecomyrminae.
Infection likely began inside the nest, since ant larvae do not leave the nest. Workers may have transported fungal spores into the nest and removed the pupa to maintain colony hygiene just as modern ant colonies do. The fossil pupa possibly represents an early instance of such behavior, with disposal outside the nest preceding resin entombment.
[Continues . . . (https://phys.org/news/2025-06-fossil-fungi-amber-reveal-ancient.html)]
The paper (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2025.0407) is behind a paywall.
QuoteAbstract:
Throughout evolution, entomopathogenic (insect-pathogenic) fungi have played a pivotal role in regulating insect populations. However, little is known about ancient entomopathogenic fungi due to the scarcity of fossils displaying typical pathogenic structures on their presumed hosts.
Here, we report two new fungi, Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae sp. nov. and Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (approx. 99 million years old). They share common traits with Ophiocordyceps and are associated with an ant pupa and a fly, respectively. These fossils are among the oldest fossil records of animal-pathogenic fungi.
In addition, we performed a divergence time estimation analysis showing that Ophiocordyceps likely originated during the Early Cretaceous. We further compiled the hosts of extant Ophiocordyceps and inferred the evolution of host associations within the genus based on ancestral character state reconstruction.
Our results suggest that Ophiocordyceps made a host jump from Coleoptera to Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera during the Cretaceous, and its subsequent speciation was probably related to the increase in diversity and abundance of its moth and ant hosts. Our results not only highlight the ecological significance of pathogenic fungi in Mesozoic terrestrial ecosystems, but also provide new insights into the coevolution between entomopathogenic fungi and host insects.
and then there are trash eating bugs............
Trash disposal is an international emergency for which most of us are sadly unaware . Some forward thinking bugologist types have been promoting the use of the common housefly for disposal of wet garbage. The fly larva, maggots, have a healthy appetite that enables them to eat thrown away mashed potatoes and gravy and all sorts of other stuff. It is claimed that a group of maggots will consume a 12 inch pizza in two days.
The maggots die or are killed before they develop into the next biological state. Their skins can be used in paint making and their excrement makes a perfectly usable fertilizer for vegetable crops.