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Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, commonly known as zombie-ant fungus, [2] is an insect-pathogenic fungus, discovered by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in 1859, Zombie ants, infected by the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus, are predominantly found in tropical rainforests.
Colobopsis explodens is a species of ant which is found in Southeast Asia. Like some other species in its genus , it is noted for a rare combat mechanism of workers exploding in self-defense, smothering the enemy with toxic and often deadly secretion. [ 1 ]
Colobopsis saundersi (synonym Camponotus saundersi), also called the Malaysian exploding ant, is a species of ant found in Malaysia and Brunei, belonging to the genus Colobopsis. A worker can explode suicidally and aggressively as an ultimate act of defense, an ability it has in common with several other species in this genus and a few other ...
The ant clamps it jaws around the plant in a "death grip" and following, mycelia grow from the ant's feet and stitch them to the surface of the plant. [9] The spores released from the ant carcass fall to the ground and infect other ants that come in contact with the spores so that this cycle continues. [10]
Some insects explode altruistically, at the expense of the individual in defense of its colony; the process is called autothysis. Several species of ants, such as Camponotus saundersi in southeast Asia, can explode at will to protect their nests from intruders. [12] [13] C. saundersi, a species of carpenter ant, can self-destruct by autothysis ...
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So selection for autothysis in ants evolved as a way to more effectively kill arthropod enemies. The products of autothysis in ants are sticky and corrosive substances, released by the ants' contraction of their gasters, leading to a burst at an intersegmental fold as well as the mandibular glands. The ants use this self-sacrifice to kill one ...
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is known colloquially as the "zombie ant fungi." Kartik Chandran has discovered that Ebola relies on a membrane transport protein called NPC1 to infect cells. Human and bat cells both contain NPC1 transporter proteins in their cells. People infected with rabies become violent and belligerent.