Zombie-Ant Fungi Discovered in Brazil

It's not quite like "Night of the Living Dead", but scientists have recently discovered a new type of fungi that can transform ants into zombies when they come in contact with it. Truth is much stranger than fiction, and what this fungi can do to the carpenter ants is pretty weird: the ants grow a stalk of fungi on their heads which controls the ant's behavior, right before the ant dies. The unsuspecting ant leaves its family after coming in contact with the fungi, deserting them as if being brainwashed, and is led to its place where it will finally die. This story sounds more like a bad science fiction film from the 1950's, but it isn't.

One of the fungus plants, O. camponoti-novogranadensis, is on the endangered species list, claims entomologist David Hughes. Hughes is a researcher at Pennsylvania State University and identified the new fungi. While the fungus can die out due to the increase in hot, dry climates, the ants can adapt more easily. This is good for the ants and the locals, who do not have to worry about seeing bizarre looking insects who are zombified (think "The Zanti Misfits" episode of the 1960's television series "The Outer Limits") then die an unfortunate death. There could be much worse things happening with a group of zombie ants:

They could take on a whole village of natives in the Amazon Rainforest, consuming their modest huts and leaving them homeless, left to defend themselves against anacondas.

Speaking of anacondas, zombie carpenter ants could probably take on one of these guys, sucking out its lifeblood. That might be of aid to the homeless natives, who can now enjoy a decent meal and use the snakeskin for clothing.

Piranhas could also be a target for the zombie ants. That could make for an entertaining movie, as was the 1978 one titled "Piranha." We won't be seeing Kevin McCarthy in this one though, even though many of is enjoyed him in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", too.

The zombie ants could eventually grow in size if a meteorite comes within distance. The amount of radioactivity would cause them to get big, like the bunnies in "Night of the Lepus." Unlike soft, cuddly bunnies though, the zombie ants could cause a lot of damage and develop a taste for human flesh. That idea might scare a lot of people, and remain far fetched today. But wouldn't zombified carpenter ants be considered far fetched already? Only time will tell.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20110302/sc_livescience/newzombieantfungifound