Cicadas are infected with sexually transmitted diseases and thus become hypersexual “zombies”

BJ Lutz, Brónagh Tumulty and Alix Martichoux

2 hours ago

CHICAGO (WGN) — A sexually transmitted disease that reportedly turns cicadas into “zombies” and causes their genitals to fall off has been identified in southern Illinois and is spreading throughout the Midwest.

The fungal infection, called Massospora cicadina, affects only the 13- and 17-year periodical cicadas. This year’s “cicada geddon” is brought to us by one species each of Brood XIII, found primarily in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and Brood XIX, which spreads south and east from there.

Massospora cicadina has already infected cicadas in Champaign, Illinois, and is expected to migrate north to the Chicago area, according to Jim Louderman, a collections assistant at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Experts in Missouri say the fungus has begun to affect cicadas there, too.

Birds that eat infected cicadas may also experience hallucinations.

The white fungus attacks male cicadas, causing the gonads to be torn from the body. The chalky spores released by the fungus spread to other nearby cicadas, infecting more and more of them.

The fungus also affects the behavior of the cicadas. Even though their reproductive organs have been replaced by a fungus, they are driven to mate with as many other cicadas as possible, Dr. Matt Kasson, associate professor of mycology and forest pathology at West Virginia University, told CNN.

Infected males also flap their wings in an attractive manner, attracting further victims.

“It turns infected cicadas into ‘zombie insects’ that spread more fungi by causing stage I (development)-infected males to produce wing beat signals as if they were females – making them very attractive to cicadas of both sexes,” explains the University of Connecticut.

By mating eagerly with healthy leafhoppers, the diseased insects spread the fungus far and wide. And with trillions – possibly even hundreds of trillions – of leafhoppers emerging this year, the fungus has a large number of insects to attack.

For those whose neighborhoods are still plagued by swarms of cicadas, some of which may be zombies, relief is on the way. The cicadas usually disappear a few weeks after they emerge after successfully laying eggs. That means most parts of the country will be quiet by the end of the month and the roaring cicada noise will be gone. Some cicadas may stick around until early July.