I have decided not to change the original blog post, but to update with a new, much more informed opinion about the cicada. I contacted Dr. David Hughes, one of the top researchers on zombie insects, and he reviewed the photos. His opinion is that this is not a true zombie but a secondary infection of a cicada that died naturally. I certainly will go with the expert opinion, so not a zombie, but sure looked like one. The following is the original posting...
Now that I covered the creepy-looking tail-less whip scorpion, I've got to go even further and show a real world zombie. Yes, a zombie.
This is really outside my area of expertise but there have been a number of articles about zombie insects lately and now I have seen my first one for real. In this case a larval stage cicada.
So what is going on, most likely since I have no information that this is known from cicada larvae, is that a fungus has attacked the cicada larva while it was living underground. The fungus then takes control of the insect's mind and delivers instructions for what the animal is to do. In this case most likely it was instructed to dig out of the ground, climb a short distance up, lock on to the tree, and die.
Then, the fungus puts out its fruiting bodies, those white blobs on the stalks, and can drop the spores to the ground in the preferred place the cicada was instructed to go to.
Now that's creepy! And here is what a zombie insect looks like, although I do note again that this really looks like one but I have not yet verified it.
Now that I covered the creepy-looking tail-less whip scorpion, I've got to go even further and show a real world zombie. Yes, a zombie.
This is really outside my area of expertise but there have been a number of articles about zombie insects lately and now I have seen my first one for real. In this case a larval stage cicada.
So what is going on, most likely since I have no information that this is known from cicada larvae, is that a fungus has attacked the cicada larva while it was living underground. The fungus then takes control of the insect's mind and delivers instructions for what the animal is to do. In this case most likely it was instructed to dig out of the ground, climb a short distance up, lock on to the tree, and die.
Then, the fungus puts out its fruiting bodies, those white blobs on the stalks, and can drop the spores to the ground in the preferred place the cicada was instructed to go to.
Now that's creepy! And here is what a zombie insect looks like, although I do note again that this really looks like one but I have not yet verified it.
An apparent zombie cicada near the ecology center at the FCRE
And I have to do a close up of the head...
Looks like a zombie cicada with the fungal fruiting bodies rising from the head
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