Australian Science Illustrated – Issue 51 2017

(Ben Green) #1

44 | SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED


ICE


Can Living Creatures Be


Turned Into Zombies?


Ladybirds, woodlice, and ants end up as zombies,
as parasites take control using viruses and chemical weapons.

I


n Game of Thrones, the White Walkers revive
the dead, converting them into an army of
zombie-like soldiers known as wights. This is
not pure imagination. In nature, you can find
lots of examples of animals which are subjected
to the full control of other creatures.
An ichneumon wasp larva can convert a
ladybird into its own personal zombie body-
guard, which helps the larva keep enemies at
bay. Another victim is the woodlouse, which
can be infected with flatworms – or parasites.
The flatworm grows inside the woodlouse, but
to complete its life cycle, it must move on to
another host: a starling. During its stay, the
flatworm makes the woodlouse ever more
careless, moving more into open and

illuminated areas than it normally would, and
in this way – against its own will – it becomes a
more visible prey to starlings.
The Orphiocodyceps fungus is particularly
sophisticated. The fungus infects ants,
excreting a powerful mixture of chemicals,
which affect the ant’s brain, making it bite.
The aim is to make the ant hold on to a leaf,
which the fungus can subsequently use as the
basis of further growth.

1 With a sting, the ichneumon
wasp "drugs" the
ladybird, before
laying eggs inside its
stlil-living body.

2 Once the egg has hatched,
the larva starts to
eat the ladybird
from within. It only
consumes parts
which are not vital
for the ladybird.

3 When the larva has
grown big, it gnaws
its way out through
the ladybird's hind
part, fastening a
silk cocoon to the
ladybird's legs.

4 The ladybird is infected with
a virus, which
paralyses it and
makes its legs jerk,
hopefully scaring
predators away.

ICHNEUMON WASP TAKES
OVER LADYBIRD BRAIN
Larva consumes ladybird from within,
taking control of its limbs.

Like other creatures, the
White Walkers take
control of the brains of
other species.
HBO NORDIC

CLAUS LUNAU & GETTY IMAGES

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