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| Zombie fungus | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 16 2014, 12:04 AM (476 Views) | |
Aura
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Oct 16 2014, 12:04 AM Post #1 |
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stupid
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Well there's quite a lack of Halloween material to work around at the moment, so I guess this counts as something. (WARNING: THIS IS NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH.) Like the title says, I'm going to talk about a zombie fungus. No the fungus is not a zombie. But what it does to insects.... The insect killing fungus us called Cordyceps. It's a species of sac fungi that controls the mind of an insect and blows it's brains. Yes you read that right. To be more specific, cordyceps infects insects to survive. They invade live bugs and attaches to their brains. Now depending on the type of species it is, the mushroom can do different things to the bug. Some mummify the insect, explode out of their stomachs, or control their behaviors. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is the main topic. It is literally known as the "zombie fungus". The pattern of this type of fungus is to infect ants and control the ant to benefit reproduction. The puppet ant goes mad and starts shaking and twitching to refuse losing it's mind. Contary to the normal zombie myths, this ant will not bite others... But it will infect ants in a more effective way. Once the mushroom takes near complete control, it will force the ant to climb a leaf to reach the best humidity. Once it reaches the right spot, the ant will grab the leaf and die there. From that point on, the fungus will break out of the ant's brain and grow larger. At it's peak, the mushroom will release spores and infect 20 to 30 ants below. Several colonies of ants have been exterminated by this fungus. I've been looking up this thing for a while now, and it's been quite fascinating to look at. If you've played the Last of Us, you'd probably know this already or even believe that it's just a made up disease. Don't worry this thing is not harmful to people. In fact, this fungus is medicine for people and the many species of cordyceps can heal the liver. Even mice have shown no effects of this. This actually appears in Pokemon too! Paras and Parasect have the same condition according to the dex entries. The one you control in battle is actually the mushroom and not the bug (hence the bug/grass type) Paras: Emerald Dex: "A Paras has parasitic tochukaso mushrooms growing on its back. They grow by drawing nutrients from the host. They are valued as a medicine for long life." Parasect: LeafGreen Dex: "A host-parasite pair in which the parasite mushroom has taken over the host bug. Prefers damp places." Yellow Dex: "The bug host is drained of energy by the mushrooms on its back. They appear to do all the thinking." Stadium Dex: "The bug host is controlled by the mushrooms that scatter poisonous spores. The spores are sometimes used as medicine in China." I know there are people who mind find this rather unpleasant, so I'll just let you look it up for yourself. One picture cannot explain the cordyceps as a whole. It's really a terrifying but beautiful image of nature. Edited by Aura, Oct 16 2014, 10:13 AM.
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Dante
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Oct 16 2014, 12:13 AM Post #2 |
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Coral-Eye Badge
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Nothing you described seems beautiful. ;-; It's one big giant "no pls." |
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Aura
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Oct 16 2014, 01:31 AM Post #3 |
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stupid
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I have a strange interest into things like this. :p I think all the specific things in nature such as bees flight patterns are just amazing. Considering that these mushrooms are medicine for us makes it so strange. |
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The Starf is a Lie
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Oct 16 2014, 01:58 AM Post #4 |
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Run...
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>fungus is basically the nuclear bomb of ants >beautiful Okay Aura. |
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Marc
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Oct 16 2014, 02:11 AM Post #5 |
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Randomness
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It controls the mind of an insect and blows it's brains. Such a beautiful image of nature |
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Aura
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Oct 16 2014, 03:14 AM Post #6 |
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stupid
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Srsly tho, I kinda wish people would put more about what they think about this crazy fungus rather than comment on my... uh crazy interest? Edited by Aura, Oct 16 2014, 03:19 AM.
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The Starf is a Lie
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Oct 16 2014, 03:52 AM Post #7 |
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Run...
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If you want a serious comment, I remember reading that Paras and Parasect is based off the idea of this fungus. |
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Aura
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Oct 16 2014, 10:09 AM Post #8 |
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stupid
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Darn. I forgot to mention that part earlier. It actually just confirms itself with it's pokedex entries too. I'll edit that one in. Paras: Emerald Dex: "A Paras has parasitic tochukaso mushrooms growing on its back. They grow by drawing nutrients from the host. They are valued as a medicine for long life." Parasect: LeafGreen Dex: "A host-parasite pair in which the parasite mushroom has taken over the host bug. Prefers damp places." Yellow Dex: "The bug host is drained of energy by the mushrooms on its back. They appear to do all the thinking." Stadium Dex: "The bug host is controlled by the mushrooms that scatter poisonous spores. The spores are sometimes used as medicine in China." |
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The Starf is a Lie
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Oct 16 2014, 12:53 PM Post #9 |
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Run...
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http://bulbanews.bulbagarden.net/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species:_Paras_and_Parasect Have an article. |
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Aura
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Oct 16 2014, 11:24 PM Post #10 |
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stupid
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Wow that's really interesting. Considering the nerd I am, I'm probably going to be reading those for a while. |
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