Return of the zombie cicadas: Team unearths manipulative qualities of fungal-infected flyers:
Massospora manipulates male cicadas into flicking their wings like females—a mating invitation—which tempts unsuspecting male cicadas and infects them.
It's a recent discovery into the bizarre world of cicadas plagued by a psychedelic fungus that contains chemicals including those found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.
[...] "Essentially, the cicadas are luring others into becoming infected because their healthy counterparts are interested in mating," said Brian Lovett, study co-author and post-doctoral researcher with the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. "The bioactive compounds may manipulate the insect to stay awake and continue to transmit the pathogen for longer."
[...] Massospora spores gnaw away at a cicada's genitals, butt and abdomen, replacing them with fungal spores. Then they "wear away like an eraser on a pencil," Lovett said.
Journal Reference:
Brian Lovett, Angie Macias, Jason E. Stajich, et al. Behavioral betrayal: How select fungal parasites enlist living insects to do their bidding, PLOS Pathogens (DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008598)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 10 2020, @02:52AM
The noisy mofos tells me it's the summer.
Probably edible, too.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 10 2020, @06:08AM (2 children)
>get to be a grub for 17 years
>get your genitals eaten by fungas
>forced to break with biological desire and "mate" with other males
Verily a femenists dream.
(Score: 2) by etherscythe on Tuesday August 11 2020, @04:51PM (1 child)
Second wave, maybe. Fourth wave "femenists" are a lot more laid back and inclusive. Have a look, you might be surprised.
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 12 2020, @02:14AM
i tend to agree with first and second wave types. Its the 4th wave out there burning down our cities.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday August 10 2020, @10:02AM (1 child)
People put Leviticus in doubt one bit and look what happens.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday August 10 2020, @11:09AM
Otoh I now know while males dressed up as females are called traps.
Account abandoned.