1. Woodlice
The names are various. Some call it wood louse, Roly Poly, Armadillo insects, and also potato bugs (Potato bug). Even if you have many names
This insect becomes a zombie when it is taken over by a parasite named Acanthocephalon (Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus). The parasite usually lives in the intestinal tract of birds called starlings, and is expelled directly into the jaws of woodlice. How come? Because this wood lice really like bird droppings.
Once inside the Woodlice’s body, the parasite takes over the brain and can tell the zombie insect to do crazy things. Like making its existence widely known by its predators. The parasite then finds another insect for mind control.
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2. American Cockroach
– The victim of zombification this time is the cockroach, perhaps the most hated animal in the world. The bad guys: wasps. Wasp venom makes cockroaches immobile. After being dragged into the wasp’s nest, the cockroach is still alive even though its stomach has been planted with wasp eggs. The larvae then hatch and eat the cockroach which is still alive but defenseless. A month later, the adult wasps flew away from the scene, leaving only a rotting carcass behind.
3. Ants
– Zombie ants that have been infested with brain-manipulating fungi (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sl) Photo: David Hughes/Penn State University
Scientists have discovered four new types of body-eating fungi that prey on carpenter ants. The fungus infects the ants and then begins to use chemical signals to direct the ants down a very strange path.
The zombie ant then leaves the colony, and grabs the underside of the leaf where it lives. When it finally dies as the fungus spreads around the ant’s body, it produces stalks from the dead zombie’s head and secretes spores, trying to lure other ants.
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