Our Insects Were Infected with Zombie Fungus

This is our collection of insects that have been infected by parasitic fungi. Some people will call a parasitic fungus a "zombie fungus". This is because the fungi can "infect" an insect's body and its mind. Others call them cordyceps, but that's only one genus of parasitic fungi. In this video, you will find a parasitized moth, spider, larvae, caterpillar, and cicada.
This video answers the following questions:
- What is parasitic fungi?
- What is zombie fungus?
- What insects are parasitized by zombie fungus?
- Does fungus kill insects?
- Can fungus control an insect's mind?
Specimen use made possible by the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology and Herbarium.

[@Axodized]

Imagine just being a bug, inhaling a spore and when you wake up you're completely engulfed edit: spelling

[@thunderinvader9031]

You won't wake up

[@Tasny_Coyote]

@@thunderinvader9031 😰

[@memeboi2259]

Imagine if it infected humans 0_0

[@obedrosario853]

That’s how people who win the lottery feel 😝 completely engulfed by fungi over night.

[@Spacecrust]

Why no Axol, I can not think of such horror..

[@TimTimTheTim]

Okay but you can’t end it without addressing why I’m not gonna get infected 😳

[@antonialoos546]

Cause you´re not a cicada XD

[@eightbitfeline1415]

our body is too different from invertebrates for fungus to infect

[@marna_li]

@@eightbitfeline1415 Yes. These guys have evolved to affect insects. I assume that a fungus would have to penetrate the skin - which is a big protective organ itself. Insects don't have that. We are bigger and the fungus would have to infect a larger surface area to compromise our immune systems. It reaching our brain and affect to it in a meaningful way is very unlikely.

[@coldstorm2580]

the fungus only survives in host that have temperatures around 34 degrees, humans exceed it (36/37 °)

[@shelby6]

Don't worry they can't currently handle our body temperature, pH levels, and immune system including out beneficial bacteria. However in the right conditions a fungus can thrive such as when you have a yeast infection after taking antibiotics. So just take care of your body and you'll avoid common fungal infections, because some can make you very sick. This fungus is unlikely to affect humans based on our anatomy for a very very long time.

[@noahhales]

2:37 the femboy fungus

[@demifried9075]

lmao

[@penguin_productions]

Haha

[@mimi73829]

😳

[@christophermoore6110]

Fr

[@sharkk_alix]

hell nah

[@Jack-pl1bz]

Group of male cicadas: "shit that one fine" Tries to mate with an infected male: "Jerry is that you? Wtf bro"

[@VTWS]

This is what the zombie apocalypse will actually be like for humans

[@mufraso439]

@@VTWS maybe it's alrd started tho not exactly like zombies in the movies

[@GojiraWook]

​​@@mufraso439 *Silence, Foolish replier.*

[@morgieporgiepuddinpie]

I told you to not swear DELETE IT

[@CatGuy4Life]

I collect cicada shells..

[@Delphini_Zucchini]

Him: “There’s something very wrong with this moth!” Me: “wait that’s a moth-!?”

[@rockyjmoon3]

Same

[@anotherrandomguy8871]

Fungus: Well, once upon a time it was a moth.

[@yourmother1211]

That’s a silcoon…

[@rockyjmoon3]

@@yourmother1211 yeah! You’re right. I dunno why, but I was comparing it to Paras earlier. Probably cuz of the fungus. But you’re right, it does look like Silcoon.

[@help_mme990]

The fungus: Well, it was one.

[@Sacred_Ivory_Rose]

A little more information on this fungal genus: It’s called Cordyceps and has roughly 600 species under the genus. Each species of cordyceps hyper-fixates on one kind of insect or spider, so one species of cordyceps that infects moths cannot infect ants. It’s also used in medical practices. Fun fact: cordyceps is the fungus that inspired the fungus from The Last of Us games.

[@frogfinity_8]

Another fun fact: Cordyceps are an expensive delicacy in Asian countries

[@Bismarckdude]

Why do I keep thinking that someone saying cordyceps is a last of us reference

[@crinklyonion1410]

@@Bismarckdude it’s the first place many of us heard of it.

[@cristsan4171]

Fun facts: China doesn't care. Food is food

[@maximumforce8275]

@@frogfinity_8 why would anyone even want to tempt that crap

[@Wolfos1996]

“Cute” is not one of the words I’d describe this 💀

[@LTSneed]

2:38 Femboy fungus 💀💀💀

[@sienna_official_1934]

Lmao

[@tubofficial1]

Femalemale

[@tomkandy]

It exists, and it's called anime

[@eustacebagge3869]

Parasite cleanse

[@cooleecoolee9504]

Man that could be a game plot for a certain game about pretending to be a group of astronauts in space trying to not be detected

[@ironwillACNH]

Awe, sweet! Naturally made horrors beyond my comprehension!

[@AverageIRLenjoyersolos]

oh sweet now i am gonna have night mares

[@justinrodriguez5144]

I'm gonna sleep tonight

[@Rodrigo-jd2wg]

@@AverageIRLenjoyersolos what's a mare?

[@AverageIRLenjoyersolos]

@@Rodrigo-jd2wg i accidently pressed space

[@bunnycat24]

@@Rodrigo-jd2wg an adult female horse

[@krupt5995]

Fungi are scary as hell man

[@eightbitfeline1415]

you'll shit yourself when you hear about parasites

[@krupt5995]

@@eightbitfeline1415 I mean parasites, even though scary, are kinda understandable; They need to live in specific organisms to survive. Fungi on the other hand are bizarre, they can grow everywhere. If you are an incect you can be infected just because a tiny unavoidable particle landed on you

[@eightbitfeline1415]

"If you are an incect you can be infected just because a tiny unavoidable particle landed on you" i mean, that's kinda how it works for other parasites too. while we human as intelligent creatures, can avoid parasites through various means, but wild animals on other hand? while some of them has probably evolved to avoid parasites, others probably won't avoid it because they don't know it's a threat. plus, those fungis are parasites.

[@krupt5995]

@@eightbitfeline1415 yeah, but if there was a human infecting fungus we wouldn't be able to avoid it either. That's what is scaring me. I have a phobia on parasites as well though. Especially the worm like ones, the disgust me

[@windws7137]

You're right. They are so unique that they're an entire different kingdom.. basically entire different world

[@DangDaVillage]

You know it gets more scarier when you realize it can also infect the biggest insects, save yourself if your fear is insects

[@mtoffo2275]

this is exactly the type of content I neither wanna see nor can look away from

[@L_Train]

Poor cicada survived being underground for 7 years only to come up and get a terrible fungus attached to it. I guess that better than the ones who just slam headfirst into my windshield though. Or the ones that get stepped on. Or the ones that I always find piled up by the back door. Maybe the worst fate is being caught by a bug they call the "cicada killer". Its a giant ugly hornet look it up. If you've ever seen one swoop a cicada out of the air with the thing screaming the whole time it's impressive.

[@intrusivethoughts3601]

I'd rather be squashed by someone's foot than have my ass eaten by a zombie fungus

[@yura2424]

If you stayed in wet soil for 7 years, you would probably also get a fungus

[@InvasionAnimation]

Cicada lowkey caught an sti that turned it gay. That is kinda funny to me.

[@pohcablcsp]

169 views💀

[@fronk794]

And better than being a shitty villain for 2 whole seasons on the flash

[@burger_8]

Imagine being a cicada that nobody loves then you find a female cicada only to realize it’s a trap

[@CalmestRaccoon]

I was gonna make a comment about that lol

[@Kspice9000]

Both figuratively and literally. And then through some fungal infection your junk falls off and you've joined their ranks.

[@internet_user975]

tokyo ghoul moment

[@coocato]

Happened to my buddy George last week

[@T_Moonman]

That's catfish with extra steps

[@ihatefishestheyreuglyandwet21]

2:44 the gay fungus

[@AnEffingPinkCatThatBreathes]

Gaygus

[@b1-horse-droid]

I was searching for this comment.

[@MorrisWilsonFvcks]

The last of us really made the zombie fungus more popular. I'm starting to see more videos about this topic.

[@matteogreco9443]

0:50 "But I was wrong, they also affect humans"

[@nathancomixproductions466]

Did you just say that?!

[@rootkitz2116]

*If you have coughing, slurred speech, muscle spasms, mood change Please follow the instruction below: 1. Don't close to anyone 2. Stay the F*CK UP 3. Do you want be SHOT or BURN? Thankyou for following the instruction! May you have a good day!!

[@TrinhNguyen-wu3mw]

@@rootkitz2116 bruh

[@pizzacreep]

😰😭 U know what I gonna say the opposite. And have a bad day👎

[@darkwebmember]

No it doesn't..its eaten and made into tea .. its also the most expensive fungus in the world its know as kida jadi

[@americangirl6654]

Hopefully nothing like this will ever evolve to do this to us.

[@WaterKatara]

That's the plot of "The Last of Us"

[@arifdaniel7082]

Fungi can definitely cause diseases, but cordyceps won't be a threat. People have been using Cordyceps species as a medicinal product now for ages. The same compound that Cordyceps species use to break down an insect's immune system is the same compound that makes the fungi so healthy for us humans. Our response to the fungi is completely different from those of insects. In fact, a lot of insects can't be infected by the fungus due to its limited host range (basically, it can only infect certain insect species). The rising temperatures will definitely cause fungi to spread more, but that doesn't mean parasitic fungi like Cordyceps will become a threat. So sorry people, no clickers for us.

[@booyah344]

@San no the last of us makes zombies that attack others This makes zombies seduce others

[@void-creature]

​@@booyah344 depends on the species of cordyceps, some also compel their hosts to seek out environments beneficial to the spreading of spores & more, so acting extremely aggressive towards non-infected individuals isn't much of a stretch.

[@oeungtichheang2005]

Breaking news: "Recent studies showed fungus can survive in temperatures exceeding 37°c"

[@libraryofpangea7018]

Something to note, Massospora cicadina the cicada entomopathgenic fungi is in the Entomophthoromycota zygote fungi While the moth infecting Cordyceps fungi is in the Ascomycota phyla or dikaryotic sac fungi. Which makes them each as different from each other as a centipede is from a snake.

[@JamieElli]

The Entomophthorales includes other insect zombifying fungi as well, like Entomophthora which affects flies and Entomophaga which affects grasshoppers and moths. Often it causes infected insects to climb to a high point to spread spores further.

[@Biblelorerocks]

They say a special moth was found to be immune and a group of photinini fireflies flew out to save this moth and study it i sure hope everything goes well

[@omnomnom2100]

Bruh

[@andriharir]

I have a feeling that those fireflies are gonna have a bad time because of a certain grumpy older moth.

[@ladyterror4663]

I always forget how absolutely drop dead gorgeous cicadas are up close. We get a ton of them each year around where I live and I only just learned about them surviving underground for years before they become adults. I really want to get a model of one or a very nice painting of them, absolutely adore these insects.

[@Adrian-hs4gi]

They are dumb bugs

[@wasteofspace6490]

they are not adorable, I almost shit my pants when a giant one was on my legs

[@justinrodriguez5144]

@@wasteofspace6490 this reminds me of the times wasps go on my left leg and a time a poisonous spider also got on my left leg

[@marimo66666]

some as old as 18 years old. depending on species

[@kaptennate8782]

My brother your mind has been taken over by SCP 3004 please seek proffessional help immediately

[@jaydenwong363]

It’s scary to think that this could happen while we were doing our own business

[@Wafyy2134]

Are you insect?

[@CurtisTerranova]

can't happen

[@jaydenwong363]

???

[@grape_protogen]

@@jaydenwong363 Thankfully, the compounds that Cordyceps fungi use to attack its hosts' immune systems are entirely safe; in fact, even healthy for humans. With how plentiful bugs still are, Chances are that Evolution won't try to make the push to destroy us too.

[@ningning5561]

i’m so sorry that this happened to your collection :(

[@LoudWaffle]

I wanted to see a timelapse of the fungus taking over.

[@camrenmugabe3062]

Why the hell would you want to see that? 😨😨

[@oqorrwakkxyccplus432]

This thing really be turning male cicadas into femboys 💀

[@donel532]

Beware the pipeline

[@ToxicMothBoi]

This is so insanely cool and kinda a little scary aswell. Love it. Nature can be so random at times

[@mrplayfulshade1038]

WAndom es funni!

[@blueraptorgaming3803]

This makes me want to visit the museum to see these specimens up close!

[@Bhethar]

That’s a good example of how nature is the best horror story….

[@apt-rex7539]

The piano music makes me feel like I’m getting knowledge directly from the universe

[@brickinacup6303]

2:50 ah so traps basically

[@lolya8029]

Mahiro!~

[@00-STARZ-00]

“this fungus makes a bug gay!”

[@O_Owowowowow]

​@@00-STARZ-00lol

[@booyah344]

Spore: *touches Cicada* Cicada: I'M GAY other insect: y-you mean a zombie? Cicada: yeah that too.

[@atthew4557]

Hollow Knight lore explained

[@williamadams1105]

I love the content you put out! I use them all the time in my 9th grade biology classes to pique their interest and encourage development of their deductive reason skills.

[@lepyrolink182]

I find it interesting how all of a sudden, after The Last of Us premiered, the internet's been kind of obsesed with fungi.

[@hamburg4034]

Same thing happened when the original game came out

[@anthonyhernandez2990]

I was waiting for a cringe Last Of Us reference lmao

[@Azazantei]

I mean hey if there's some kinda mad scientist that stupid and crazed and determined enough to create a Super-Fungi may as well we know how it spread and lives lmao. But atleast people on the Internet been wondering about it, and it makes them trying to search for an answer and to learn. So.... it's not that bad.

[@damegataco]

interesting fact about the Cicada one is that it uses psilocybin and cathinones to cause it to behave like it does by triggering the pathways in it's brain to seek to mate with other cicadas... Pretty cool!

[@adonskide1387]

Human: this zombie fungus is dangerous, let's hope it doesn't infect human. Also human: Oh, sHrooM!

[@d.bdisaster6615]

It's scary how intelligent the fungus is!!

[@fitzwatson6202]

its not intelligence

[@d.bdisaster6615]

@@fitzwatson6202 yeah I know; it's actually their survival instinct. But that instinct looks like a well planned murder mission that amaze me the most.

[@hassansyed4135]

@@d.bdisaster6615 well that’s evolution in a nutshell, the unconscious force of perseverance had led these organisms to attempt complex strategies to simply just survive, which we humans take for granted.

[@sentinelav]

Good timing with the release of The Last of Us series 🤨

[@Larry]

Mushroom zombies! Soneone ought to turn that into a video game!

[@amazinggamethan6155]

"there is something wrong with this moth" meanwhile all of us knowing there is something wrong:👁 👄 👁

[@Whomobile]

This sounded way to whimical for Last of Us tier horror

[@TheMunchkinita2509]

Cordyceps!! My favorite fungus!!

[@rockyjmoon3]

I was wondering why this was in my recommendations. But I learned something interesting, yet terrifying.

[@6Jx1chi]

this is terrifying as hell and i feel sorry for the bugs wtf

[@celestialdiamondgamings2297]

3:06 AYO, FUNGUS THAT MAKES YOU A ZOMBIE AND GAY?!

[@rulerofeverything6294]

This worser than the walking dead

[@JAVASTRONIVLA]

This is scarier than the last of us cordyceps, because this is fr down bad moment

[@rulerofeverything6294]

@@JAVASTRONIVLA if zombie apocalypse happens I will lost faith in my survival but if the zombies make you gay I will have courage to survive because I don't wanna turn into gay fucker

[@ZaHandle]

doki doki waku waku

[@killerwithoutcanary]

femboy moth

[@epicmushroomhunter6147]

The genera of the fungus on each specimen (in this video) are different. They are under the family cordycipitaceae. You cannot simply call them cordyceps. For example, the one on the spider is called (genus) gibellula. The specimen is a bit aged and fresh ones are as beautiful and elegant as you could imagine. The genus cordyceps has a completely different look. They are usually club like mushroom/fruit body

[@cat-vv9xb]

"fresh ones are as beautiful and elegant as you could imagine" Found the infected patient zero.

[@videogames9885]

Ok now I want to see what the fresh ones look like!

[@Zesty_medly]

"The spider has aged like wine" is what my autistic ass picked up

[@MagdalenaTheremin]

Im pretty amayzed how it is possible to fungus to make the insects alternate theirs behaviour this way.

[@JohnRome-xn7hx]

Nature is dreadful sometimes but still fascinating!

[@C-Handle]

How many pores would it take to zombify a human? Asking for a friend.

[@eightbitfeline1415]

i know you're joking but those fungus can't infect humans. we are not invertebrates. we have bones and so on. so our body is too different for fungus to infect like their normal hosts.

[@Wittty_]

You can't

[@thefartigamazingxsavior2434]

ayo are you tryna make your friend get infected, making him do behaviours only found in females ready to mate to trick males to mate with them😳😳😳

[@kevinplayz7965]

You can't

[@rafsan1578]

😂

[@elucia1202]

A video on how these types of specimens are obtained, please

[@schflop1]

Okay, so your telling me that there is an infection going on, sort of like a miniature zombie apocalypse. Now, if this disease could spread to humans, I’m gonna have to start boarding up my house with metal walls and start stacking up with canned food.

[@thechlebek901]

it can't

[@mysticlgd4247]

@@thechlebek901 not yet at least

[@danes4784]

But if the world would get warmer…

[@GalileoRamosSkeletons]

I just discovered your channel and I love it! Congratulations and thanks for make these amazing videos!

[@saadattash]

I like the way you are presenting the stories ❤

[@galurpradana8846]

3:01 🏳‍🌈 ?

[@tubofficial1]

Son, insects celebrate pride month too.

[@chadgorosaurus4898]

It truly sucks to be a small invertebrate.

[@Nilns]

I absolutely love this channel and your style of presentation. I'd like to see more bug content, if you could! Any kind of bugs will do, but the stranger the better.

[@faufaufau]

So you're telling me there's a type of fungus that turns cicadas gay?

[@hello_people_im_good..12]

Thank you for the information about this :)

[@MisaTheDog]

0:32 "cute little branches" they dont look cute at all 😫

[@lornaseamans1903]

Pretty sure there is a show and game on how this might be us some day 😭

[@lornaseamans1903]

@Mikia yeah ik lol

[@toadynamite8141]

Yeah, Mario bros

[@leaf2180]

Impossible for it to happen to humans.

[@lornaseamans1903]

@@leaf2180 yeah, that’s why they made a video game, since right now it’s impossible

[@kellenphan7198]

For those of us concerned about this affecting humans, yes, me too. However, none of the parasitic fungi species can survive in a human body, as our bodies are too warm. There's nothing as of right now to necessitate them evolving to survive our high body temperature. Unless the world happened to get warmer.....

[@ButterSticks8]

These people bouta make Last of Us come to life

[@flithycasual]

Imagine the species they haven't caught yet😳

[@AverageHerper]

Ngl seems iconic since the last of us talks about bug parasites a bit

[@L_Train]

Nglurbchmdfgt

[@AverageHerper]

@@L_Train bro became a bloater in 10 minutes

[@ganjaguy800]

2:10 “like an infectious salt shaker” You could’ve ended the sentence without adding something so psychologically damaging

[@blagoevski336]

Lmao true

[@AgentSomnium]

An additional piece of information for you all: those special brood x cicadas (black and red) only have the abdomens affected because the fungus actually spreads like an S.T.I. Instead of being "sprinkled on the ground," it makes the libido-equivalent of the cicadas skyrocket and they try to mate with all the other cicadas. It even will cause male cicadas to imitate female cicada mating behaviors. The brood x only emerge every so often in part to try and out-pace the fungus, and to get the best chances of success from the environment in other areas as well.

[@toadynamite8141]

This is I neat video, however this is old news, we know this also because pokemon like parasect and moth bosses usually shoot spores on us, but thanks for the info, wish we had more on the subject

[@applejuice6775]

This made me very uncomfortable. I love it

[@Has-uo1lq]

How do these types of specimens get preserved? My first thought would be that the fungus is still growing

[@arlessbad]

They kill the fungus

[@richardperezmartin6838]

My brain likes to think that somewhere out in the world there is a missing person who got infected but is completely isolated, and that person has the only species of fungus able to infect humans.

[@jarielwilliams9856]

I feel like this man is playing with these insects like they are dolls

[@spicynostirl]

How do I get a job like yours with no experience? I'm in the wrong profession. How would I get started? Love the videos!

[@niwaniwaniwa]

So basically, this fungus makes femboy cicadas.

[@ambivert_phia6687]

apparently

[@eightbitfeline1415]

gotta love evolution 🥰

[@fridgefreezer9529]

A lethal one

[@pyrrehraus6571]

the internet is one big virus that makes femboys

[@escapetherace1943]

or you could word it differently invading brain parasites make a man.......

[@penegakkeadilanpembasmikej5022]

people should use this concept to make tv series

[@JamieElli]

Last year our local houseflies caught a similar, but distantly related fungus. They were attracted to our house, where they stuck themselves to windows and wires, and the fungus ejected white spores. It seems to be Entomophthora rather than Cordyceps.

[@mimp8365]

The last part worries me. So it does affect humans but it’s not lethal? 😬😂

[@It-Will-All-Be-Okay-I-Promise]

This type of Fungus is hyper specialized for bugs, it is impossible for them to infect and puppet people like they do to bugs. They can still affect you, but because you’re not a suitable host, they cannot infect you.

[@MCheshire]

These specific does not affect human, but exist fungi that affect

[@mimp8365]

@@MCheshire 1

[@mimp8365]

@@MCheshire 2

[@mimp8365]

@@MCheshire 3

[@avavanpelt926]

Im just saying. You would make a great asmrtist. Because I was sleepy throughout this video. And thats a compliment! I was not bored at all

[@roy4567]

Aww the poor bugs. I feel so bad for them 😔

[@Squ4zzle]

I had one of these grow on a moth pupa I had in a container when I was a kid, I used to think it was a really cool looking spiky fungus.

[@jannivannibell]

It would be horrifying if a fungus evolved to have these effects on humans

[@youraftermyrobotbee]

Literally the plot of The Last of Us

[@ApersonnamedPon]

I would want to move to kepler-22b

[@CRYS_itsme]

I love your videos so much dude

[@PuppetStringHolder]

I think I know what my dreams will be about for the next three weeks. Thanks for that

[@ChrisAsia]

Fun fact: the Chinese caterpillar fungus is considered a very important traditional Chinese medicine and is worth it's own weight in gold

[@charliekezza]

Love this channel ♥️♥️🖤🖤♥️♥️

[@superflowerguy]

Well, that was grossly interesting

[@davidellis1374]

The mushrooms I get from the store sometimes tell me to do things. Should I listen to them?

[@davisty1235]

Absolutely!

[@TPSCP]

Hell no way that GameFreak take such a dark inspiration to make Silcoon and Cascoon i-

[@matchc0635]

I remember there's a old Chinese "medicine" which is just some caterpillar infected with these fungus, and I find it kinda gross

[@citrus_sweet]

Yes, winter worms. They parasitize moth larvae.

[@johncama4314]

This is just AMAZING

[@rainredfox]

Infected male : Femboy

[@OfficialToxicCat]

KZbin trying not to make me not want to sleep tonight challenge: impossible.

[@C-Handle]

2:35 The fungus really turned the cicada into its female dog. 🤨

[@owenfeilds]

So u? (Joking)

[@pekozyn6514]

How does the fungus knows about the mate calls... HOW DO THEY KNOW

[@ricedbroccoli]

They don't take over the brain, they flood it with hallucinogenics based on what they need it to do

[@EpicRobloxPro129]

Magic

[@TheRealACM]

Bro got the infected wolf spider 💀

[@MAINWTF]

Xdd

[@rudetoy8264]

One cool and fascinating topic! But lack in-depth analysis or identification of this fungi. Other KZbin channel identified fungus infect ant called Cordyceps which has 600 species world wide

[@The_Rogue_One]

Oh no this fungus makes the bugs gay

[@yolandajames7206]

😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@stevenXCV]

The Balls of Us 😳

[@blerst7066]

According to some studies, this type of fungus doesn't just control the host's brain, it replaces it. More specifically, the fungus itself acts like a neural system, directly controlling its host's muscles.

[@reya012]

Imagine getting infected by a fungus and mindcontrolled by it to be a femboy.

[@rezandrarizkyirianto-1933]

So the fungus turned the freaking cicadas gay. How fun