# Zombies are real

> Fungi and parasites manipulate insects and rodents to act against their own survival.
- Title: Zombies are real · The Conversation | Shortify
- Summary: Fungi and parasites manipulate insects and rodents to act against their own survival. Parasites like Ophiocordyceps fungus control insect behavior without…
- Keywords: ophiocordyceps, zombie ants, parasites, fungi, insects, rodents, toxoplasma gondii, behavioral manipulation, emerald jewel wasp, hairworms, cocksroach, ant behavior
- Source: The Conversation — https://theconversation.com/zombies-are-real-just-ask-the-parasites-taking-over-the-bodies-and-brains-of-insects-and-rodents-leading-them-to-their-doom-292955
- Author: Tara Deans
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ophiocordyceps, zombie ants, parasites, fungi, insects, rodents, toxoplasma gondii, behavioral manipulation, emerald jewel wasp, hairworms, cocksroach, ant behavior
## Zombie ant fungus
The fungus Ophiocordyceps infects ants, altering their behavior to spread spores.

> The life cycle of the zombie ant fungus begins when fungal spores land on an ant.
## Death grip behavior
Infected ants bite vegetation and remain attached until death, forming a stalk for spore dispersal.

> The ant bites tightly onto a leaf, twig or other plant surface and remains attached in what researchers call a death grip.
## Fungal control mechanism
Fungal growth spreads through ant bodies without brain invasion, affecting muscle function.

> Researchers examining infected ants before death found extensive fungal growth throughout the body and around muscle fibers, but not inside the brain.
## Emerald jewel wasp
The emerald jewel wasp injects venom into cockroaches, reducing their movement drive.

> The emerald jewel wasp, Ampulex compressa, uses a very different strategy: It injects venom into a cockroach’s nervous system.
## Hairworms and crickets
Hairworms lead crickets to water, where they escape the host’s body to reproduce.

> Hairworms take behavioral manipulation one step further by leading their hosts toward their own demise.
## Toxoplasma gondii
Toxoplasma gondii infects rodents, making them attracted to cat odors for reproduction.

> While rodents normally avoid cat odors, those infected with the parasite can lose some of that natural aversion and even become attracted to cat odors.
## Behavioral manipulation
Parasites alter key behaviors without full brain control, using multiple body systems.

> These examples show why 'mind control' is an imperfect description of how parasites manipulate their hosts.
## Real-life zombies
Nature creates organisms that redirect behavior, without the dramatic zombie tropes of fiction.

> So biology cannot create the dancing dead of 'Thriller' or the infected humans of 'The Last of Us'.
## Scientific significance
Studying these parasites helps understand normal behavior control systems in living organisms.

> Studying these real-life zombies may help scientists understand not only how parasites manipulate their hosts, but also how normal behavior is generated and controlled in the first place.
## Key takeaway

Parasites like Ophiocordyceps fungus control insect behavior without brain invasion, leading to death grip and spore dispersal.