(CNN) — As if today’s world weren’t weird enough, researchers have discovered a new population of cicadas that are being brutally infected by a parasitic fungus that controls their minds and forces them to infect other insects.
Called “zombie cicadas,” these insects are under the influence of Massospora, a psychedelic mushroom that contains chemicals like those found in hallucinogenic mushrooms, according to a new study published by PLOS Pathogens.
After infecting its host, the fungus results in “a disturbing display of horror movie B proportions,” the University of West Virginia said in a release of press.
The first Massospora spores eat away at the cicada’s genitals, butt, and abdomen. They are then replaced with fungal spores that are used to transmit the fungus to other cicadas. From there, this new fungal abdomen “will wear out slowly like an eraser on a pencil,” study co-author Brian Lovett said in the statement.
The infected cicadas, which were found in West Virginia by university researchers in June, are the third cicada population found to be infected by Massospora, according to study co-author Matthew Kasson.
Since cicadas have a life cycle of 13 or 17 years and live underground until they emerge more than a decade later, studying how Massospora infects these species can be very difficult.
How the fungus manipulates the cicada
A cicada infected with Massospora.
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While almost a third, if not more, of their bodies are replaced by fungal tissue, the infected cicadas continue to move without realizing their disease. This is because the fungus manipulates the behavior of insects to keep the host alive rather than killing it to maximize spore dispersal.
“If one of our limbs were removed or our stomach was cut, we would probably be incapacitated,” Kasson told CNN. But the infected cicadas, despite the fact that a third of their body has fallen, continue with their activities like mating and flying as if nothing had happened. This is really unique for fungi that kill insects. ”
The study highlights recent findings that include how the infection leads to hypersexual behavior. Even though infected cicadas lose their ability to mate when their hindparts become fungal plugs, they will still try to mate to sexually transmit the fungus to healthy cicadas.
The parasitic fungus even manipulates male cicadas to flap their wings to mimic the females’ mating invitation so they can also infect unsuspecting male cicadas to quickly transmit the disease.
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While researchers believe that sexual transmission of the fungus is the easiest way for Massospora to spread, cicadas can also come in contact with the pathogen in other ways.
“When they fly around or walk on branches, they also spread spores that way,” Kasson said. “We call them flying salt shakers of death, because they basically spread the fungus in the same way that salt would come out of a flipping shaker.”
While a zombie army of cicadas sounds scary, Kasson says infected cicadas are not a danger to humans. At this time, the researchers believe that the fungus does not pose a serious risk to the general cicada population.
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