Imagine if a parasite entered your body, surrounded your muscles and then took
control of your behavior as though you were nothing more than its meat puppet.
This may sound like the plot for a horror film, but it's actually Mother Nature at work. Luckily for us humans, this kind of parasite is only attacking insects -- specifically ants.
"Zombie ant fungus," known to scientists as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, is a fungal parasite mostly found in tropical forests. The parasite was first discovered way back in 1859 by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace.
After the parasite infects a carpenter ant, it takes control of the ant's body, often making the ant use its mandibles to bite into the underside of leaves, where they die. https://www.cnet.com/news/fungal-parasite-controls-ants-muscles-zombies-deep-learning/
