Jun 5, 2018 · Dicrocoelium dendriticum (or the lancet liver fluke) is a parasitic flatworm. During the course of its remarkable life cycle it inhabits snails, ants and herbivorous mammals such as cattle. And although it is miniscule, it is capable of mind control.

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, commonly known as zombie-ant fungus, [2] is an insect-pathogenic fungus, discovered by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in 1859. Zombie ants, infected by the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus, are predominantly found in tropical rainforests.

Jun 7, 2018 · Ants typically ingest multiple worms, most of which lurk in their abdomen. However, one worm makes its way to the ant's brain, where it becomes the insect's driver, compelling it to perform...

Sep 19, 2023 · Just in time for spooky season, scientists have learned more about how a tiny parasitic flatworm called the lancet liver fluke infects and controls the brains of ants. With their complex...

Sep 18, 2023 · Once the liver fluke infects the ant, several hundred parasites invade the ant's body. But only one makes its way to the brain, where it can influence the ant's behavior.

Sep 18, 2023 · The lancet liver fluke, or Dicrocoelium dendriticum, is a tiny parasitic worm that has a complex life cycle, passing between several hosts to reproduce. The flukes first infect ants, invading ...

Sep 19, 2023 · The infested ant is coerced to climb to the top of a nearby grass blade and clamp down on it, providing an easy opportunity for roaming ruminants to inadvertently eat the ant and its wormy...

Jun 10, 2018 · In a recently published study in the journal Scientific Reports, scientists looked inside the head of ant overtaken by gruesome, mind-controlling parasites. The parasite, the lancet liver...

Sep 17, 2023 · In a bizarre twist of nature, ants are finding themselves at the mercy of a parasite called the lancet liver fluke – a flatworm with an uncanny ability to control its host and turn ants into zombies.

That's the reality for ants infected with the lancet liver fluke, a tiny parasitic flatworm. Liver flukes have a complicated, almost insanely conceived life cycle, which begins with the hijacking of the ant’s brain.