Abstract
In a humid forest climbs a lone carpenter ant. At midday, it sinks its mandibles into a leaf’s vein and is locked in place. A few days later, a thin stalk of mycelium erupts from its head, dusting the forest floor in spores to infect a new victim. The ant has been infected by an unseen puppeteer known as Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato, more commonly called cordyceps or the “zombie‑ant fungus” (de Bekker et al., 2021). When we think of mind control, visions of mad scientists and maniacal villains tend to dance through our heads; the true culprits, however, are microscopic organisms that employ a variety of tools to alter and modify their host’s behavior. It is worth noting that this is not the mind control you see in the movies— that is, the fungus is not consciously piloting the ant. Rather, “mind control” is a simplified way of explaining how behavioral manipulation works on this scale. Cordyceps displays a particularly spectacular control over an ant’s faculties: coordinating it to die in the perfect microclimate for its growth (de Bekker et al., 2021). But how?
Recommended Citation
Beasley, Connor
(2025)
"Mushrooms and Mind Control,"
Osmosis Magazine: Vol. 2025:
Iss.
2, Article 10.
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/osmosis/vol2025/iss2/10