Zombie is an animal similar to the walking dead. According to legend, it is caused by the body not decomposing after death. For a long, long time, people did not believe that zombies really existed in the world, but Hong Kong zombie movies It greatly exaggerates the horror of zombies and makes some people begin to believe that zombies exist in the world.
Although it is still unclear whether zombies really exist, the existence of zombie ants is exactly the same as the description of zombies, they are like a walking zombie. It's just different from what's seen in movies and TV shows. "Zombie ants" in nature refer to ants controlled by fungi.
A fungus called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis that lived 48 million years ago can change and control the behavior of ants by releasing chemicals. They were originally ordinary ants, but were affected by the fungus. The chemicals released by the fungus Under the command of the ant, he controls the actions of this body and turns it into his own puppet until the ant finally dies.
Of all parasitic organisms, only a few have evolved the ability to manipulate the behavior of their hosts. Scientists don't yet know exactly how the parasitic fungus controls infected ants, but they do know that the parasitic fungus releases alkaloid chemicals into the ants' bodies.
A few years ago, during a scientific expedition in a jungle in Guyana, a biologist discovered the corpse of an insect infected by fungus. It clung tightly to the high places of the plant, and then the fruiting body of the fungus It broke out from its head.
According to the National Geographic website, scientists discovered a new zombie fungus in the Brazilian rainforest, which can infect ants, occupy their brains and perform "mind control." Once the ants move to an area best suited for their growth and spread of spores, they kill the ants. The fungus was originally thought to be a single species, called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, but there are actually four distinct populations. And all are capable of mind control over ants. All 4 known populations of this fungus live in the Atlantic rainforest of in Brazil. The Atlantic rainforest is rapidly changing due to climate change and deforestation. Each fungus has its own ant prey that is best suited for its attack. This means that there are thousands of zombie fungi living in tropical forests around the world.
These "zombie" ants have their nervous systems controlled by the fungus, allowing them to climb up to the upper leaves of plants, where they bite the leaves. The ants are then killed. After death, the fungus uses the nutrients in the ants' bodies to multiply and finally breaks out. These fungal spores that break out of the body will be thrown down from the trees. If any ants pass by, they will be infected, allowing the fungus to spread further.
There are many types of fungi that control ants, such as Cordyceps. After infecting ants, it will control the ants to crawl towards the leaves, and then "order" the ants to bite the leaves with their mouths to reveal the veins, and finally painfully die.
Of course, different fungi will control different ants, find different suitable environments, kill the ants, and then infect other ants. How do these fungi "control" ants? The principle is more complicated. To put it simply, after the fungus infects the ants, it will secrete different types of enzymes, and these enzymes will change the chemical reactions in the ants' bodies.
There is another kind of animal that likes to turn ants into "zombiees", called parasitic flea flies, also called decapitated flies, because they will brutally attack the heads of ants.
At first, this fly will approach the ant colony, wait for the opportunity, and inject its eggs into the ants' bodies. The infected ants don't notice it at first. After a few days, the eggs will hatch into larvae and burrow all the way into the ant's head to avoid damaging the host's brain while absorbing nutrients. During this time, the ants are still normal. After a few weeks, the larvae will secrete chemicals that seize control of the ant's mind and direct it to enter the leaf litter for the next step of its development until the larvae develop into adults and then fly out from the ant's head. The methods are cruel and selfish, and he is truly a "cruel character" in nature.
There are always various constraints in nature. The various encounters of ants are probably the operation of natural laws. Natural selection, natural selection, this is a choice that will never go out of style. Only by continuous improvement can we adapt better.
The Hollywood blockbuster " Alien " describes the parasitic behavior of alien life on humans, and the parasitized humans themselves have no choice at all. The aerospace hero who returned from the alien put the shotgun into his mouth, and with the last resort The autonomous consciousness tries to redeem itself, but the head that was blown off by the shotgun quickly grows back - is this shocking scene like the ant biting the leaf?
So this also provides a further wake-up call for mankind. A wake-up call. If humans continue to plunder nature endlessly, they will eventually incur crazy revenge from nature. When the environment deteriorates beyond repair, causing parasitic bacteria to evolve to the point where they can use humans as hosts, then how do humans face themselves? Crazy fate with no choice?
