This fungus turns cicadas into “zombies” after sexual transmission

It turns out that humans aren’t the only creatures that can ride the psychedelic wave triggered by eating mushrooms.

However, the side effects are quite deadly when it comes to cicadas, a flying pest. We’re talking about a reaction you’d see in The Walking Dead or perhaps The Last of Us, as the decrepit creatures fly around, losing body parts and infecting any other cicadas they touch with the deadly fungus.

The fungus, known in the scientific community as Massospora cicadais a sexually transmitted pathogen that causes severe mutilation and ultimately death, USA TODAY reported in 2020.

According to a 2020 study published by PLOS Pathogens, the chemicals found in cicadas after infection are similar to those found in hallucinogenic mushrooms.

An NBC affiliate in Chicago reported that the fungus was recently observed in the cicada population, but this is not the first time, John Cooley, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut, confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday.

The same thing happened four years ago when the “mind-controlling” disease struck members of that year’s cicada brood, USA TODAY previously reported. At least 10% of cicadas in the Midwest were infected with the fungus, Cooley told the Independent.

The topic is “even stranger than science fiction. It’s a sexually transmitted zombie disease,” Cooley said.

Here’s what we know:

Cicada Overload: For the first time in over 200 years, two broods appear simultaneously in the USA

What does the process of “zombification” look like?

The zombification of a cicada or swarm of cicadas with the white fungi gathering in their crevices is quite graphic.

Cooley explained to the Independent that when the fungus attacks the body of a male cicada, it first destroys its testicles, sterilizing and then killing the insect.

The infected cicada transmits the chalky-white spores to other cicadas, thus passing the sexually transmitted pathogen to the entire population, the Independent reports.

What effects does the sexually transmitted pathogen have on cicadas?

Well, it’s not very nice.

The disease acts like a parasite, eating through the limbs and other body parts of the flying insect. Infected cicadas gradually lose these limbs until nothing is left.

These “zombies” quickly become a threat to all neighboring cicadas as the males fly off and spread the fungus further, USA TODAY reported.

The fungus causes infected males to flap their wings, producing a familiar buzzing sound that only female cicadas make. The sound attracts other males, who believe a female is ready to mate.

“In this way, the fungus is transmitted to the attracted males” until there are no healthy cicadas left in the swarm.

The fungus is considered a death sentence because it builds up in the abdomen and destroys it from the inside out as the fungal spores grow, USA TODAY reported. It is “a disturbing spectacle of B-horror movie proportions,” according to a press release from West Virginia University.

Contributors: Autumn Schoolman; USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The cicada zombie fungus that could be fatal to the 2024 brood