were turned into zombies by fungi
[Music]
behind the scenes at kew gardens in
london the underground fungarium
collection houses over a million
specimens which have come from all over
the world
amongst the shells of the
climate-controlled collection
a handful of disturbing bugs stand out
these unfortunate creatures have all
been victims of varieties of zombie
fungi
several cicadas are new additions to the
collection at queue
having spent the past 17 years
developing underground
these insects emerged in 2021 to a world
dominated by a human pandemic
little did they know that a different
airborne killer would soon be coming for
them
microscopic fungal spores carry in the
air
most fungal spores are harmless to
creatures and will settle on the ground
to grow and produce the mushrooms we’re
most familiar with
but some parasitic funky like types of
masosporer and cordyceps have a
different more sinister purpose
once they land on insects like these
cicadas the spores will infiltrate the
cicadas bodies and spread inside
the cicadas are soon completely overrun
with no known way to fight back
the fungus then starts to flood the
cicadas brains with hallucinogens and
amphetamines
it’s thought this makes them both more
hungry and more active to find a mate
but there’s also a darker use for this
drugging
as the fungus continues to grow inside
the core of the insect
it causes the rear end of the cicada’s
abdomen to fall off
exposing the fungus to the air in order
to release its spores and spread further
afield
it’s thought the drugs released by the
fungus into the cicada’s brain make it
more energetic in finding a mate thus
maximizing spore dispersal for the
parasitic massospora
with over 400 species of cordyceps type
fungi spread across the world
other creatures such as wasps moths
and caterpillars have also fallen prey
to these parasites
ants are another notable victim of these
killer fungi
once infiltrated by fungus
the ant will move away from its colony
to a location
like high in a tree which suits the
controlling cordyceps
the parasitic fungus will make the ant
anchor itself by biting into the tree
trunk in a kind of death grip
the fungus will then burst out of its
host and grow into a mushroom-like
structure
ready to spread its spores
and start the deadly cycle
all over again
