Zombie Flies Driven by Mind-Controlling Fungus Strike a Death Pose to Shoot Spores chronicle.co.zw - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chronicle.co.zw Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
They bore holes in the host but keep it alive with an amphetamine-like substance
The fly then buzzes around for days, sprinkling more spores on other victims
Eventually it falls on its back and spasms for several hours before dying
Scientists in Denmark have uncovered two new species of deadly fungi that devour from the inside, bursting from the abdomen of their still-living prey.
The parasites Strongwellsea acerosa and Strongwellsea tigrinae infect adult flies, which continue to buzz around for days with massive holes in their bodies.
ADVERTISEMENT
Thousands of torpedo-shaped spores can shoot out like a rocket from a single fly.
Researchers discover and describe two fungal species for the first time
University of Copenhagen researchers have found and described two fungal species for the first time. The fungi infect adult flies and subsequently create a hole in the abdomen of their hosts bodies. Infected flies then buzz around days as the fungi devour them from within and eject fungal spores from these holes in their bodies. The discovery marks a contribution to the mapping of global biodiversity. At the same time, the new studies open the door for potentially useful nature-made pharmacological discoveries.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen s Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Denmark have found and described two new fungal species. Both fungi were discovered in the Capital Region of Denmark with
Story highlights
The last thing we needed in 2020 was zombie flies, but in pure 2020 fashion we have got it! Two new species of fungi that infect flies and then eject spores from the abdomen have been found in Denmark.
The last thing we needed in 2020 was zombie flies, but in pure 2020 fashion we have got it! Two new species of fungi that infect flies and then eject spores from the abdomen have been found in Denmark.
Reportedly, the spores are ejected like small rockets from the fly’s body. The two new species of fungi survive on their hosts, until it dies.
Researchers found both fungi in the Capital Region of Denmark. They found
Strongwellsea tigrinae in Jægerspris and
Strongwellsea acerosa, on the island Amager.
“This is an exciting and bizarre aspect of biodiversity…”
The fungi infect two Danish fly species (
Coenosia tigrina and
Coenosia testacea). As they do, they create a large hole in the abdomen of their infected hosts. The flies buzz around for days as they release fungal spores into the air from this hole and they drift onto new victims. If, for example, a fly comes by to mate, it risks becoming infected.
The fungi are nourished from within the rear segments of flies’ bodies right up until the end. After a few days, the fly lies on its back and spasms in its final hours of life.