After that, the fungus will begin growing spores out of the ant’s head, directly above the ant’s colony. It will then release the spores to rain down on any other unsuspecting victims below. While ...

Several days after the ant has died, the fungus sends a fruiting body out through the base of the ant’s head, turning its shriveled corpse into a launchpad from which it can jettison its spores ...

The ant dies as the fungus takes over its body, and eventually, the parasite’s large stalk erupts right through the back of the ant’s head. When the parasite is done growing, its deadly spores ...

The fungus is like something out of a horror ... in search of zombie ants for more than a decade. Over the years, he kept noticing something strange: a fuzzy white fungus growing on top of the ...

Ophiocordyceps are named because they infect the brain of their hosts to then manipulate the ant’s behaviour. Zombie-ant fungi have gained widespread recognition as the inspiration behind the ...

The fungus continues to grow, eating everything inside, until the insect finally dies—at which point the fruit of the fungus will burst out of the ant’s head, sending fresh spores out into the ...

They start to organize themselves to produce the fruiting body out of the host; it varies according to the species, for example, the zombie-ant fungi grows often from the back of the head ...

The fossil fungi are from the same family as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, also known as the zombie-ant fungus, which has gained widespread recognition as the inspiration behind the popular ...

The ants meticulously cut the leaves into tiny pieces, chew them into a pulp, and carefully plant them in their subterranean chambers. Here, a special fungus grows, breaking down the plant matter ...

CNN — Around the world, a parasitic fungus transforms ants into "zombies." The fungus is like something out of a horror movie ... a fuzzy white fungus growing on top of the zombie ant fungus.