Cordyceps: A Disturbing, Yet Beautiful Killer

A disturbing, yet oddly intriguing insect covered in fungus caused
by cordyceps.

According to BBCWorldwide, there is a parasitic fungus that is known as the cordycep. The cordycep is not a normal fungus such as a mushroom, however. It reproduces through the use of spores that enter the body of an insect and infect its entire being. The most commonly known insect to be infected, the ant, loses control of its own bodily functions and instead, the cordyceps take control, moving the ant upward on a stick, most likely to get the best radius of spores when it explodes after the fungus grows out of the insect's head for a prolonged period of time. If the other ants are lucky enough and notice the ant's peculiar behavior before it's too late, then one of the ants collects the infected ant and takes it to a secluded location, away from the original colony. Once the ant dies and the cordycep has fully taken control, the fruiting body of the fungus begins to protrude from the insect. After about three weeks, the end of the cordycep explodes with spores, infecting any and all ants that dare to approach the previously infected insect. While I did use the example of the ant to describe the cordycep, that is not the only insect to be affected by the fungus. As a matter of fact, there is a single variation of the cordycep for each separate species of insect and they each affect every insect differently. While the parasitic fungus may seem like a dangerous and deadly being that can do nothing but harm, the cordycep actually aids in the balance of jungle ecosystems, as they do not allow one species of insect to become "king of the jungle," so to speak. Oddly enough, there have been those in Asia who have made a living off of the sale of "caterpillar mushrooms," which is a form of cordycep that is sold on the black market. In 2009, there was a batch of caterpillar mushrooms that weighed approximately 200 pounds and had a value of around 300 dollars. The caterpillar mushrooms are sold as an aphrodisiac and are occasionally used in Chinese medication. Now, there is no need to worry, as cordyceps do not affect humans in the same manner as insects. However, Jake from Vsauce3 had produced a video that asked the question of what would happen if cordyceps were to begin affecting human beings. The concept comes from the game "The Last of Us," which portrays a world that has been torn apart by cordyceps, resulting in 4.25 billion people perishing or being turned into mindless zombies due to cordyceps. Now, this may not seem like a viable fear until you realize that approximately 60 percent of all modern diseases originated from animals. When Jake had used a program to test how quickly the infection would spread across the globe, it only took 60 days to infect most of the world. Personally, the fact that humans are not prepared for such an event terrifies me. Call me paranoid, but I would rather not end up looking like a "Clicker" from "The Last of Us." Oddly enough though, I find the fungal masses that are created on the insects from the cordyceps to be quite interesting. I would even go so far as to call some of them beautiful. Yet the way that the fungus is created disturbs me and I cannot help but shiver at the sight of the cordyceps, but that might just be my insectophobia (fear of insects). Cordyceps are some of the most terrifying, yet intriguing and beautiful killers that nature has just waiting to explode.

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