Buzz
Although it's highly unlikely that the dead will rise from their graves, there are still a surprising number of zombies walking among us. Some lurk beneath the waters where we swim (not unlike this guy), and many more are found right beneath our feet.
To survive in a brutal world, some creatures have adopted an unusual approach: they control other beings, much like VooDoo zombie masters, using them as hosts, food, or labor. Here are a few examples of nature’s zombies and the parasitic beings that manipulate them. They're coming to get you, Barbara…
1. Fungal Invasion
When a spore of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis encounters an ant, things quickly spiral into a bizarre and tragic turn for the ant. The spore germinates and infiltrates the ant’s body through small openings in its exoskeleton. Inside, the fungus begins to grow, devouring the soft tissues while sparing the vital organs, as the ant must stay alive for a little longer to serve the fungus.
As O. unilateralis reaches the end of its brief life and prepares to release spores for the next generation, its long, branching threads invade the ant’s brain. The fungus emits chemicals that poison the ant’s brain, compelling it to act as a vessel, leading it to its doom. The now-controlled ant abandons its colony, climbs a plant, and locks its mandibles around a leaf, securing itself to its final resting place. From there, new life emerges, directly from the ant’s head. Exposed to the open air, the fungus' fruiting bodies mature, bursting and releasing clusters of spores into the atmosphere. As these spores fall, they explode, scattering the spores like confetti across the ground, infecting other ants and continuing the strange cycle. This whole process, from infection to the next outbreak, can unfold in just two weeks.
2. A Web of Intrigue
Thwack
In the world of the orb weaver spider, its web is the inevitable deathtrap for many insects that become meals for the spider. But for the parasitic wasp Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga , it’s an entirely different game. Using a range of toxins and mind-altering substances, the wasp turns the spider into both a slave and a snack, transforming its web into a shelter. The female wasp paralyzes the spider with a sting, then lays her egg on its abdomen. Once the egg hatches, the larva feeds on the spider’s hemolymph (essentially its blood), living off it until ready to complete its life cycle.
A few weeks later, the larva is prepared to move into the next phase of its lifecycle, injecting the spider with an unidentified chemical that alters its behavior. The next time the zombie spider attempts to build a web, it repeatedly makes the initial steps instead of following the usual sequence, creating a web made only of reinforced anchor threads and a small central section. The spider then crawls to the center and sits idly. The larva molts, kills the only companion it has ever known, consumes any useful remnants from its body, and discards it. It then constructs a cocoon on the specially designed web. Weeks later, the adult wasp emerges and flies off, and the cycle begins anew.
3. Roach Motel
Similar to H. Argyaphaga, the Emerald Cockroach (or Jewel) Wasp lives freely as an adult but starts its life inside a host. These wasps use cockroaches as living incubators for their offspring. When a female is ready to lay her eggs, she lands on a roach’s back and plunges her stinger into its abdomen. The roach’s legs buckle, and it collapses, temporarily paralyzed and unable to escape. This gives the wasp time to become a brain surgeon. She guides her stinger into the roach’s head, carefully probing until she finds the right spot. The venom released doesn't paralyze the roach but makes it obedient. The roach, no longer in control, follows the wasp like a pet as she leads it to her burrow. There, she lays her egg on its abdomen and leaves. The roach remains helpless, waiting. The egg hatches, and the larva emerges to chew into the roach’s body, living off it for a week before forming a pupa. After a few weeks, the adult wasp bursts from the roach and leaves it behind in the burrow.
4. The Bodyguard
We promise this is the last wasp story (though there are many more!). Female wasps of the genus Glyptapanteles lay multiple eggs inside caterpillars, and the larvae soon emerge to spin their cocoons. The caterpillar seems to get off easier than the roaches and spiders, but its work isn’t over. Some larvae stay behind inside the caterpillar, sacrificing their own chance to pupate for the benefit of their siblings. These larvae take control of the caterpillar’s body, forcing it to act as a guard for the cocoons. The caterpillar remains motionless unless a predator approaches, in which case it violently thrashes at the intruder to protect the pupae. By the time the adult wasps emerge, the caterpillar, having gone without food during its guard duty, dies from starvation.
5. Aquatic Demise
The parasitic hairworm begins its life on land—inside a grasshopper or cricket—but eventually becomes aquatic as an adult. To make the transition to water, it forces its host to take a fatal plunge. The worm floods the insect with proteins (possibly mimicking its own natural ones) that disrupt the host's nervous system, driving it to leap into the nearest body of water. The insect drowns, and the adult worm, several times longer than the dead host, wriggles free and swims away in search of a mate. The offspring will infest the water until they are consumed by another host to continue the cycle.
