An entomopathogenic fungus of the genus Ophiocordyceps is capable of manipulating the brain of ants to do what is convenient for it.
According to a recent study by the University of Pennsylvania, the parasitic organism is also capable of distinguishing between different species of ants and secretes different substances depending on its victim. Many of these molecules are unknown, although experts have identified two of them, guanidino butyric acid and sphingosine, both with neurological effects.
When an ant approaches the spores to feed, the fungus settles on it and takes control of its central nervous system , so that the insect climbs up the trunk of a plant to one of its leaves, where it ends its life. The parasite then spreads new spores that fall to the ground to start the macabre cycle.
