Cordyceps - zombies in reality
Cordyceps sinensis – this is our zombie predator. In China, they call it "winter insect, summer herb". Imagine a fungus that shoots out its spores (seeds) during reproduction in summer, which then attach themselves to the body of an insect. It gradually overgrows the insect's body and parasitises it, literally eating it from the inside, while the insect continues to live, changing its external appearance but continuing to hunt for food until it burrows underground, where it dies and mummifies. The fungus can survive in it for a long time. The fungus literally takes over the host's body, growing out of it in the summer and forming slender "sticks" 5-20 cm high. This inspired the Last of Us video game series, where the Cordyceps fungus turns humans into zombies. In real life, this video game takes place in the real life of insects. The victims are butterfly larvae, large ants, spiders...
