This behavioral manipulation mirrors patterns seen in the famous “zombie ant fungi” of Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest, where infected ants are compelled to leave their colonies and die in ...

It was found to display the creepy properties seen in zombie-ant fungi, insect-pathogenic fungi that infect and manipulate the behavior of ants. The idea inspired popular culture such as in the ...

Instead of making food from sunlight, some of these plants have become parasitic and primarily suck nutrients out of the fungi in their roots. Whether these orchids change their feeding method ...