#[massospora cicadina]

[sitting-on-me-bum]

With a plug of yellow spores where its abdomen used to be, this periodical cicada has been infected with the fungal parasite Massospora cicadina. The fungus hijacks the sexual signals of cicadas, turning them into zombies and forcing them to behave in ways that spread the fungus.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES

[mycoblogg]

have you talked about entomopathogenic fungi here? i think they're extremely cool! huge fan of Massospora cicadina, personally :]

i actually have not, yet !! let me know what you'd like me to say about it. i'll work on a little post with info about it & some examples, though :-) it's such an interesting concept.

massospora cicadina is a fascinating example of this & definitely something worth looking into. i could even.. do a FOTD.. wink wonk..

i love when people share their thoughts with me on any sort of fungi topics, so i'm glad you sent in an ask !!

[local-kneecap-dealer]

Yes! Massospora cicadina. Toxoplasmosis. Entomophaga Grylli. These were just a few I recall (if I recalled correctly). I remember reading about them a couple years ago and knew I'd have to write a zombie fic cause of it. Now I'm glad to see other pieces of media recognizing the amount of story potential that this has

You know, as the concept of “zombifying fungi” becomes more and more popular, I notice it still referred to everywhere as like a “brain parasite.” So I guess a lot of people overlooked or forgot how in 2019 it was discovered that cordyceps and other similar fungal parasites leave the brain and nervous system completely untouched. They only control the muscles. They use chemical signals to make the muscles flex in real time where they want to go :)

[cookie-nom-nom]

If I had a nickel for every time I had an insect OC who lost their legs, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

Based off the Massospora cicadina fungi, which parasitizes cicadas, forcing them to sing until they die in order to lure in cicada mates, which spreads the fungi's spores. The cicada is also pumped full of psychedelics and amphetamines. I thought this gave a fun angle, as the cicada is having a swell time as their lower half rots away and they lure others to their death. This nameless cicada OC is an enthusiastic participant, wanting to share their 'enlightenment' with others. Sort of a mixture between a siren and a cult leader.

[ratsfanaccount]

Did you know 1946382: there’s a fungus that grows in cicadas and produces amphetamines and psychedelics in them so they buzz around going ape and trying to fuck everything around them until they die ? Fun fact !

[frostybearpaws]

TO TALK ABOUT MY LITTLE GUYS

(and the post-apocalyptic nightmare they find themselves in) :3

SO!

What is their world like?

I find parasites that take over hosts to be FASCINATING and make such good inspiration for stories because there is delicious body horror aspects that I can’t say no to

Hair worms that eat the cricket’s fat stores and force it to walk into a water source (the parasites eating the fat is actually not fatal to the cricket. BUT the signals telling it to go into the water leads to many of these afflicted crickets to drown)

the rat lung worm which takes control of its snail host and makes it climb to the tops of trees or grass stalks and makes its eyestalks do this

which is actually the worm itself inside the eyestalk (ouch) acting like a beacon to attract birds to eat the snail so it can reproduce in the birds digestive track

there is the T. Gondii that infects rodents and makes them attested to the smell of cat pee and cats in general. The mouse then gets eaten and like the rat lung worm it reproduces in the cat’s digestive tract. (Fun fact this parasite can get into humans and has the same effects on the brain making some people cat lovers, though (warning) it can be bad for developing fetuses)

there are several parasitoid wasps that lay eggs on caterpillars that eat the butterfly larva alive while still keeping it alive. A more specific example are the braconoid wasps and horn worms. Whats really interesting is that the wasp larvae make the caterpillar protective of them and won’t eat it drink water as it slowly wastes away.

in many ways Rabies is like this too. It infects the hosts brain and makes them aggressive and afraid of water to the point of not being able to drink water without the throat closing up. There is not cure and it can sit in your system for years until it gets triggered by something. (Which is a terrifying though)

Massospora cicadina is a fungus that infects 17 and 13 year cicadas (and funnily enough it’s an STD) it effects the host by living inside of male cicadas and makes them hypersexual AND act female by flapping their wings causing other males to try to mate and then become infected themselves. For fungus hollows out the cicada and also suppresses the pain.

If you look at this gif you will notice that the cicada is missing its abdomen entirely and still crawling around.

AND FINALLY THE ONE, THE ONLY (there’s actually a bunch of different species) THE CORDYCEPS FUNGUS! It’s actually very fascinating how this fungus can affect the insects it manages to infiltrate. Some species of this fungus only infect one type (even species: moths, flies, stick bugs, caterpillars, spiders, etc) of insect/arachnid. Sometimes it’s not that picky. But the one that most people are familiar with is the one that infects ants. The fungus makes the ant crawl to a high place above the colony and latch onto a branch in a death grip (all while it’s consuming the ants tissues) and then the fruiting body emerges. (Ants that are seen exhibiting odd behaviors that indicate infected-ness are actually taken out of the colony to keep the rest of the workers safe)

So I like this infection thing that’s going on, The Last Of Us made cordyceps fungus famous, but there’s also a book called The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R Carey which follows a group of survivors and a new age human whose body has formed a symbiotic relationship with the fungus making them super human (and also insatiably hungry)

Both are very interesting concepts and feel like a fresher snip on an old zombie narrative. And then I went in and added anthropomorphic animals into the mix, and there's a bit of an issue doing on.

This fungus, like rabies, can sometimes sit in a person for years and year before it "wakes up" and starts to infect them. There is a general sense of paranoia that is within this community of people (they use the word 'bipeds' when referring to groups of anthro-sapient-animals and humans)

Secondly globalization is a thing of the past and even the idea that cities a few hundred miles apart working together seems laughable now because technology is fucked, fuel is practically non-existent and everything is either steam powered, hydro-electric, or manual.

And finally this is a world of sapient animals and people (kinda like bojack horseman) in the past they had all been united because they were able to sustain themselves with (non-sapient livestock, think like regular cows, pigs, chickens, wild game, etc). Now it's getting harder to farm, so people are reverting back to their more primal instincts and eating each other. :D

This is the world they live in, riddled with infection, paranoia, and people desperate enough to kill for even a scrap of food.

Now with that all out of the way

Meet The Characters

Shaya Jacks: A human with blue hair. When the world went to shit, Shaya was taking an apprenticeship to become a welder. Then the world caught on fire and suddenly she found herself with a bunch of tools and a dire situation. Shaya quickly found out she was really good as using these tools to quickly shorten the lives of people for a hot meal and a warm bed at night and this is what she did until she was able to find a more stable environment to live. Once a person who fixed things, she was now a person who broke things, her morals went out the window and she became ruthless with her only goal in mind keeping herself and those she cared about safe and fed.

Solis Young: A lion with black hair and a yellow mane. Solis was halfway through high school when the infection took over. Previously he had been living with his sister who was looking after him after the death of their parents. He had dreams of becoming a professional chef one day and was on the school wrestling team. He managed to escape "judgement day" as they call it by the skin of his teeth. Solis has a intimate partnership Shaye, they met when she was on the road, she agreed to keep them safe from roving bands of raiding parties, in exchange for living with them and eating their food, she was the one who got them to safety when it became clear that their home was no longer safe.

Rhea Young: A pink lionness with a white mane. Rhea was working as an EMT when the end of the world rolled around. After the death of her parents she looked after Solis who was several years younger than her. Rhea always wanted to do good, she always wanted to help people, this is why she became and EMT. Having to kill infected peoples probably hurt her the most. For this reason when they found safety in walled off zone, she joined the militia keeping the walls guarded believing she was bringing order to a world that dove headfirst into insanity. She has a strained relationship with Shaya which in turn can cause some tense moments with Solis.

Molly Eisenhour: A dark blue, big horn ewe. Molly is Rhea's wife, they met when Molly was donating her wool to charity for it to be knitted into blankets during a harsh winter before power was restored. Rhea is extremely protective of her, because there had been a rise in the murder and consumption of other prey species such as sheep, cows, and even horses in their community. Molly is a capable ewe but like many sheep this is anxious and feels safest when tucked into the arms of her lioness.

Ben Hart-West: A newfoundland dog. He works with his husband Tony to provide fish for the community. He's protective but he's also a massive teddy bear (and soft too, he gives the best hugs)

Tony West: A Bull Shark. He is a spear fisher that dives down to collect the fish, he feels most at home under the sea as many of the fish do, but he also wants to drown in his husband's fluff.

[copper-sands]

"...they begin to Sing or make a noise from first they come out of the Earth till they die. The hindermost part rots off, and it does not appear to be any pain to them, for they still continue on Singing till they die."

a quick design of Vessel from Sleep Token as a Hollow Knight character, inspired by his mask(s), cicadas, and the Massospora cicadina fungus.

[brianmcnett-blog]

Besides that, cicadas come with their own built-in biological control. Massospora cicadina causes the cicada's genitals to fall off and turning them into single-minded sex machines (which admittedly doesn't take much). This tends to keep populations down over time. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-this-zombie-fungus-turns-cicadas-into-horror-movie-sex-bots/ While Massospora only infects about 5% of the Brood X cicada population, it's still a massive number.

A general reminder—periodic cicadas pose no threat to anyone and their plant damage is limited to nipping off the ends of twigs. Please do not hose them with pesticide. They are slow and clumsy and confused and only want to make friends with other cicadas and eventually die of sexual exhaustion.

Yes, the screaming is a lot, but they’ve been extremely quiet neighbors for thirteen years, cut them some slack as they go through the most fraught time of their lives.

[sa7abnews]

Hypersexual ‘zombie’ cicadas infected with parasitic fungus being collected by scientists

New Post has been published on Sa7ab News

Hypersexual ‘zombie’ cicadas infected with parasitic fungus being collected by scientists

Scientists are continuing to study the fungus Massospora cicadina on specimen of infected cicadas as the insects emerge across the country this summer.

[mycoblogg]

freaky fungi fact : entomopathogenic fungi !!

entomopathogenic fungi are fungi that can kill or seriously disable insects.

this group of fungi lives in the soil & infects insects by penetrating their bodies to feed on them, & eventually kill them. they are sorted into five divisions (ascomycota, zygomycota, deuteromycota, oomycota & chytridiomycota), each with their own properties.

they have a big impact on insect population dynamics in soil.

there are currently over 800 different entomopathogenic fungi that have been identified.

below the cut are some images of insects that have been infected. CW for animal death + bugs / other critters + just general disturbing imagery.

a beetle parasitised by an unnamed entomopathogenic fungus. [source]

a cicada parasitised by the massospora cicadina fungus. [source]

a spider parasitised by an unnamed entomopathogenic fungus. [source]

[the lovely user who asked me to talk about this : source<3]

[fiva-mccanless]

Yesterday I found a cicada missing its abdomen but still alive! Apparently, this happens because of a fungal infection that zombifies them!

[cherryblossomshadow]

Why am I just now hearing about the IRL sex pollen???

These articles are just line after line of the most insane things?! Like okay, the fungus makes the bugs "hypersexual" and gives them "prolonged stamina?" Sure. Whatever.

The fungus makes their butts fall off? And replaces them with a "white plug of fungus?"

The fungus makes male cicadas bisexual?

And it's not just that the bugs just start mating with anything that looks cicada-like, regardless of sex. No.

The infected males will literally. take on female mating behaviors. to seduce other male cicadas.

"Gender-bending, death-zombie fungus" was a literal quote that I had to read with my own two eyes from the Department Chair of Biology at George Washington University.

Edit: Receipts in the reblogs

[errantryraptor]

[steeplewack]

I love me some bugs and I love cicadas but I’m so so so glad I am not a cicada and therefore not at risk of turning into a saltshaker of death

[onenicebugperday]

hi! I follow & love your tumblr! Wanted to ask a quick question, hope you know the answer... I adore cicadas! They're my favorite! I've been taking some pictures and filming some brood x cicadas and so far I haven't seen any with fungus taking over their bottom halves. I have; however, seen a few male cicadas with a tiny yellow spot or section down where they mate. I wanted to ask if this was the beginning stages of the fungus or an actual part of their genitalia? Can we find out? thanks!!!! :)

I'm afraid I really can't answer without seeing a photo of what you mean! The fungus, Massospora cicadina, is pretty distinct from the rest of the body, though. Here's an infected one:

If it's white or light yellow and chalky, it's likely the fungus. In early stages of infection the fungus is entirely within the abdomen, but then eventually causes the segments of the abdomen to fall off and exposes the fungus and its spores. So if there's fungus showing, likely the genitals have been destroyed, and they wouldn't be able to copulate.

Photo by knicki