Zombie Ants!

Zombies exist! But mostly just ant-zombies. Today we're learning about Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, also known as cordyceps or zombie-ant fungus!
Thanks to our friends at @MinuteEarth for collaborating with us. Make sure to check out their channel for even more STEM facts! / minuteearth

[@MR-NO_ONE647]

Plants vs zombies❎ Ants vs zombies✅

[@user-ue1lf4ip9i]

Nah💀💀💀

[@user-ue1lf4ip9i]

Ants vs zombies❌️. Plants vs zombies✅️

[@mymydiaz166]

​@@user-ue1lf4ip9i r/woosh Take a joke

[@user-qf9ee9km9b]

Plants VS ants

[@liambruhiscool]

Ants vs Zombies ❌ Plants vs Ants ✅

[@piccle7856]

Imagine it evolves and the last of us starts

[@Potatoheadog]

Watch game theory they had an explanation on what the cur is search up game theory ellie is not immune last of us

[@reptiles8563]

global warming makes it evolve bc of they too need high temp

[@kgmc29]

It's called the last of us

[@eeee8489]

Its not the walking dead, its the last of us

[@mochileirodasgalaxias3495]

It will start the last of us

[@logtheghost]

Fun fact! It doesn't take control of the brain, only the muscles. So assuming you stay alive long enough (in the imaginary scenario that cordicheps could infect humans) you might just be aware that you are becoming a zombie and there's nothing you can do about it 💕

[@The-unhonoredone]

HEADCRAB ZOMBIES!!! The infected KNOW they're zombies and cry for help. WE'RE A QUARTER AWAY FROM HALF-LIFE!!!

[@logtheghost]

@@The-unhonoredone exactly! ;)

[@Byran-ys8im]

why the heart emoji💀

[@logtheghost]

@@Byran-ys8im :)

[@creeperbait_42]

That...sounds like an absolute nightmare

[@juyoungkim1628]

When zombie ants bite me 💀

[@carlaurelio620]

the last of us has begun

[@Polly-1680]

Lol, the video literally said that it won't work because our body temperature is hot enough to kill it and most ants aren't actually venomous. So they can't spread it.

[@catherinevictorio9559]

Even you get bite it will dead cuz of your body heat

[@user-sz2vk9fo9z]

Your immune system will probably kill it though

[@BlazeArrow-1901]

He speaking facts tho​@@catherinevictorio9559

[@Bigcheeseburrito]

Fun fact we actually eat the mushrooms as delicacies. Yeah we take the mushrooms off of the dead ants and eat them. Zombie mushrooms are yum

[@SeventyTinyWyverns]

Delicious.

[@D4v3mill3r]

LOL that’s terrible 😭😭

[@furkanspider2613]

But if one fungus evolves to our body temperature...ONO💀

[@SwissNikolai]

​@@furkanspider2613yea your right

[@Potatoheadog]

@@furkanspider2613congrats you explained the begining to the last of us

[@evejobs7801]

Queen ant: boys, get in the bunker.

[@user-hk5xf1mw8d]

Random ant:BOYS GET IN THE QUEEN SAID SO

[@TheSongPerson01]

*pulls out infected mushroom sandwich*

[@garg4531]

(Girls) And I actually remember hearing that if an ant notices one of them is infected, they’ll carry the infected individual as far away from the colony as possible to ensure it won’t spread to them

[@Fiddlepaddler]

@@TheSongPerson01 I can tell your a grounded fan 💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@GoldenFisher727]

@@TheSongPerson01 Sausager Incoming

[@CrimsonJewel]

"It can't infect humans." Some guy carrying 26 kilograms of radioactive waste into a forest: *"We'll see about that."*

[@Polandball-e1t]

Wait…

[@unnamed6864]

Btw radioactive waste will absolutely destroy the cells of organic life. Sadly we cannot get super powers from the godly green gatorade.

[@CookieJar-Official]

Wheres my peashooters

[@Squirtle773]

Can I have some too

[@jezierskioliwier2212]

I need bloomerangs or puff shrooms Great defence or free temporqry defence

[@TalalThaju-gn7zj]

you know you need sunflowers

[@magshdz]

There are 20 quadrillion ants on earth. You're gonna need a doom shroom for that Edit: with a coffee bean of course

[@Pluchao]

AIGT FELLAS GOT THE DOOM SHRO- "trips over" Oh god...

[@NuningMinie]

The ant got springlocked by a fungus with a ">:3" face

[@emilychan6405]

Nahh Dat fungus is Dat cute

[@jordangolden8159]

Now, as a Wings of Fire fan, I call that the breath of evil.

[@joannalaunderville7589]

EXACTLY

[@ultraentity3037]

You also read wings of fire too?!

[@jordangolden8159]

@@ultraentity3037 Yes.

[@ultraentity3037]

@@jordangolden8159 *W*

[@ultraentity3037]

Still waiting on book 15 lol

[@kaczek12386]

and this fungus evolve to human temperature and the last of us in real life

[@cross977]

That would already far exceed your lifetime and mine, then the fungus would have to adapt to even live in cities, then the fungus would have to adapt to our complex muscles, and after all that? Medical technique: anti fungal

[@gomgombon9732]

Chineese: is that a problem? Thay will be a free food

[@garg4531]

Not to mention adapt to our brains/muscles, which are very different from ant brains/muscles

[@Gojo-j8c]

"AMAZON RAINFORS"got me dying

[@NuningMinie]

Wdym? That is its name right?

[@Gojo-j8c]

@@NuningMinie you commented 2 minutes ago

[@Proxima_B1]

If the fungi evolves to life in higher temperatures… THE LAST OF US ALL OVER AGAIN

[@emilychan6405]

Fr

[@lourdesbarreda8375]

The funguses face is the reason why i watched this

[@KitxShorts]

Zombie Fish : uh im not a zombie?

[@timThetimmer69]

not that kind of parasite

[@Lucas-fd7qs]

O sweet mother of God it's the last of us any edition

[@_Sakura.Tree_]

The last of us was BASED on this mushroom. Actually it’s the exact same mushroom- Cordyceps! I love this mushroom and i don’t even know why-

[@mudchip.]

Certified hollow knight moment

[@NoahRogers-dk7pz]

i found what inspired the game microcyclopsis Edit:HOLY MAC N CHEESE 94 LIKES

[@pradipmil2777]

and the last of us

[@creeperbait_42]

​​@@pradipmil2777yeah, in the last of us it's literally a mutated variant of this exact mushroom that causes the apocalypse (the in universe explanation to it's mutation is global warming, causing all it's variants that are vulnerable to heat to die off, leaving just the most resilient ones, strong enough to survive the human body temperature and infect humans)

[@Cat-ta-il]

The fungus: *levels up* Me: GET READY FOR THE PLANTS

[@TheE_Baron]

Great. Now you have me a fear of ants like Zack D Films gives us nearly every day.

[@tonllenos]

What if a person with lower body temperature was accidentally bit by a zombie ant

[@katmore9]

A person with a significantly lower body temp would be hospitalized, if not dead altogether.

[@hinami-akane7074]

Even then nothing would happen, because the fungus didn't evolve to controll us!

[@romanski5811]

We should engineer heat resistant parasites to see what happens.

[@Vortexofcreation]

That is an amazing idea, can’t wait for the last of us irl

[@stephenieborder1819]

Yeah let's do the walking dead irl

[@CringeyEmojiMan]

This is bout to go down

[@Vortexofcreation]

@@CringeyEmojiMan W

[@ZhianBabaran]

Yay I never watch the last of us but now I can watch it IRL

[@astropipe]

This is literally what last of us is based of the cordyceps fungus

[@Strawberry_cat626]

Imagine ur an ant and u found that fungus

[@NotroLPS]

I’m sorry…. “MOSTLY” ants???

[@Kristhemselves]

Yeah other insects can also get infected

[@FarazD]

This fungus are the idea of the game "Last of us I and II"

[@cbgaming7209]

I’m just imagining it infecting people, it takes over the muscles, you are fully conscious as your body is being taken over by a fungus and you can’t do anything or express anything. That is horrific

[@user-ud9yy7mx7s]

Ain’t that the last of us?

[@vincentboen5038]

Cordyceps and other Fungus can still be in Flour that we eat, even tho we baked them they will still be in the Bread but even tho there is fungus in the bread, our body can destroy it easyly and the most Heat Resistant Fungus cant stand from an oven But hey its just a theory a Film theory -Matpat

[@sigor6137]

an orange infection among bugs? I've already heard something like that...

[@snowflaketheneonkitsune7727]

😮

[@ILIKECHEESE-x1k]

OHHH MA GA hollow knight

[@tacoo0c4t]

HOLLOW KNGIHT GSHADVVDBXNCN😍😍

[@sigor6137]

@@tacoo0c4t EXACTLY

[@gegeeneegegeen8075]

Now which one of em pissed off the "light"? was it Buzz Saw addicted king again?

[@hisgenerals3793]

"What if there's a reason for it to evolve, maybe the world's temperature increased by a few degrees"

[@andrew8293]

besides our body temperatures cordyceps would also have to adapt to our complex nervous system. Our central nervous system and motor control differs much from an ant. A mutated Cordyceps infecting a human is the equivalent of a mutated rabies virus infecting an ant. It just won't work

[@garg4531]

There’s also the fact that mammal brains are much larger and more complex than ant brains A lot of parasites tend to be very specialized too due to co-evolving with their hosts, and I imagine something like *this* is extremely specialized That being said there’s actually a few species of fungi specialized each specialized in targeting a specific species of insect, and I remember hearing that they help bring balance to the ecosystem - if any one species grows too numerous, the parasitic fungus will quickly spread and bring their population back down to more manageable levels

[@Patrick22013]

Welll what happens when you eat the ant?

[@lintonbarangan7492]

The fungus will die with the ant

[@MineBloxerYT]

Wow

[@kakahass8845]

Nothing. Parasites are specialized for very specific situations.

[@dieutran5665]

"Most of them are ants" What about the others

[@_Sakura.Tree_]

Moths, spiders, just a lot of bugs really. Each type of cordyceps is great at infecting different species, but as the video said- they can’t affect mammals. Just bugs.

[@samuelc.s.deoliveira163]

I love how the zombie fungus is like ">:3 ye"

[@cherylchui4510]

Imagine them trying to infect an ant while having to sit in the 30°C weather

[@Lights792]

Not the t-pose :(

[@yurisanbuenaventura8673]

I swear ant will eventually evolve to be smart enough to invent medicine💀😭

[@Dylan577games]

Pov: it's winter We're cooked, or should I say..frozen?

[@NoeliaRodriguez-fh4te]

imagine all mammals bodies become as cold as an ant for whatever reason

[@FaunetheVtuber]

I originally thought this was gonna be about CWD (chronic wasting disease) aka zombie deer disease but the cordyceps infection is an interesting one too.

[@user-zx2gt7io2e]

the one guy who is irritated by ants : As they should Me : as they should

[@gamerguy6942]

T posing any isn’t real, it can’t hurt you. T posing ant:

[@filipino_phonk]

ant commander:get the poisen throwers on that battlefeild IM NOT LOSSING ANOTHER GOD DAM PLATOON TO THOSE BASTERDS

[@mukeshvishwavishwamale4597]

*fungus levels up* _Humans and mammals_ Fungus:*HELP* *_dies_*

[@furkanspider2613]

So fungus who function like headcrabs and can zombify ants. Got it.

[@Izzzyan77]

Everbody gangsta until it mutates twice

[@Lily_the-fox]

Reminds me of that episode of Htf where sniffles tries to control the ants but 🔪🩸 happens

[@melvinver1749]

When amazon delivers yellow fungus:

[@axeldidden1040]

Spiders can also get effectid by funguses even the big ones

[@I_am_normal_I_think..]

Its like a mind-control thingy

[@XxFire_BlazzxX]

Everybody gangsta until it adapt your body temperature

[@trooperplayer_]

Well, the amazon rainforest is hot af, maybe it could evolve, but it would need human help, add a crazy scientist and its a match. Anyways, you forgot about the fatal bite, where it "buries" its head on the tree to kill itself.

[@Da_BiggestBird.]

Now i gotta see an Ant animation and edit for this

[@GhostyTheGamerLOL]

I think not only ants that can be a zombie. Snails can I think People said that bird poop has 100 or more. Or less parasite eggs. When snails eat them they become zombie. The parasite makes the snail climb a tree/plant or other things and then just. Jump away and falls to their deaths. Tell me if im wrong!

[@Tsarbloonba]

Minuteearth must hire you

[@GigaTheCeratus]

Not the first background looking like the bfdi area where robot(forgot name) was peacefully resting or contemplating life 😭

[@Abandoned_channel-j4g]

Lmao

[@Randompplfr]

Now thats only lasts untill they evolved to survive high temp

[@ferrerolovae]

The ant having four body segments is almost killing me😭😭😂😂

[@Monitor_Head]

This has great cartoon potential

[@Astro-sensei]

Btw there is a whole video game series based off the fungi called The Last of Us and it’s about what would happen if the fungi could infect humans and not just ants

[@EdwardM919]

So far, it can't infect humans, but life finds a way.

[@Isla-hc4ym]

Yk, the fungus thingy and what it does to the ant reminds me of the Breath of Evil from WoF

[@STAR._fire]

Lice: ... you know we are small too?

[@user-ks4ew5lp9f]

I heard of these from a short and it gave me a lot of nightmares before

[@Beelevule]

It can actually evolve bc of our planet's temperature rising and when it does it can probably start controlling us too lol

[@xsillah3623]

This is art is cutely showing something very horrific. Look at the real life images, this animation is too kind 😂

[@Ahapersonn]

I have heard about this so many times but it is still really cool

[@NotWalter4]

Jungle destruction protocol activated

[@weishenglimmyboi]

Isn't there something similar with grasshoppers and locusts? The locusts touch the grasshoppers which infects them with a parasitic virus. It changes their molecular structure and puts them into the mindless horde of locusts forever.

[@cherylchui4510]

other cold blooded animals in winter:

[@volkano6991]

It also makes the ant bite into the tree

[@isenmileshamson4603]

This is the fungus where "The Last of Us" took inspiration!!

[@staktion]

The cordyceps fungi found in 1818 in france is actually not dangerous YET to the human body and its not able to get control over us. I repeat, YET. For symbioze and multiplying in the human body, this fungi needs to travel in the air at 35-37 celsius degrees. This fungi has 3 principal targets: the brain (consumes parts of the brain, this occuring in abnormal functionality, i mean crazyness and losing the control of your mind, actions and emotions). Next are the principal organs, because consuming (or symbiotizing) them results on more energy for the cordyceps fungi, accelerating its lifecycle. The last target is the skin. It has lots of nutrients and, if the fungi gets over it, it will multiply way easier by the way of the air, this occuring in faster multiplying and attacking other creatures. And, as a bonus, it can evoluate to live in other conditions. For example, it could multiply by the way of the air at lower degrees, at normal ones. Think about it, check it.

[@user-hm9nv1cw7h]

Just wait till they evolving and are capable to handle mammals body temps one day

[@marcelojesus6250]

Loved how you showed mammals from Amazon

[@captheobbyist6434]

this reminds me of last of us (because it's literally the same fungus like from the series, but in the series the fungus evolved to take higher temperatures)

[@pjthemaster1]

This channel takes me back to when I was a kid and would watch animal planet or discovery kids

[@user-np8rl8xj9d]

The fungus takes over the ants and it’s called the quartzes fungus and in the movie it actually took over people and made them in the zombies

[@TheWorldsLargestOven]

*T posing ants*

[@Handlenamexyz124]

all it takes is one pufchase from the tech tree

[@vil8374]

Actually, scientists are worried that with the rising temperatures that fungus like that could actually start affecting humans

[@cherylchui4510]

Fungus: time to infect another ant Person watching the ant: *tries to get closer* Fungus: oh no it’s a 30°C I’m going to dıę

[@D4v3mill3r]

Oh, like that one white fungus that infects snails, completely taking over their body, then makes the snail crawl out into the open for a bird to eat, consuming the snail and fungus, and when the bird leaves its droppings, the cycle continues, right? I think that’s very cool but also absolutely horrific for the animals it infects 🙁

[@Spooky-dude-d6p]

The most scary is the dimensional conqueror gorebox

[@neogamecraft1686]

MOSTLY, MOSTLY WHAT DO YOU MEAN MOSTLY

[@Quartz_Quazarts9678]

WHERE ARE MY PEASHOOTERS- _Famous last words from Antonio_

[@LylahDragonTamer]

all fun in games until the fungus evolves

[@Hi_aj]

Fun fact: now there's actually deer zombies

[@josuelopez4211]

First 3 seconds when fungus is on ant: Ant: *SINGING*

[@cherylchui4510]

It’s 2.34 seconds I timed it with my watch

[@mion9989]

Global warming: Let me help you, fungus!

[@cherylchui4510]

wait until all ants are infected

[@francesstrong9152]

It's more like hijacking Then zombie because if the parasite was removed it would return to normal if you remove the parasite from a human zombie and suddenly the zombie dead

[@fenicedelvento9899]

The last of us: the beginning from ants

[@angel_cat]

Didn't recent studies also show that human bodies are getting relatively cooler in temperatures than they were a few decades back? Likely to compensate for how warm the earth is getting on average. Well, hopefully our base core temperatures don't become low enough that fungi like this can infect and debilitate humans.

[@PegasusMidnight]

"Mostly" , "For now" ...

[@H.012_zoned]

Poor little ants 😢 Ants vs Fungus

[@jirredvang901]

Well atleast they don't rip chunks off of each other

[@SonicTheArchie]

I just imagined what would happen if the fungus evolved, also taking over the body of humans- A bunch of people with fever would suddendly need to save the world💀

[@Never.A.Human6235]

Everyone gangsta untill that fungus evolve