Cicada killer12/6/2023 ![]() “The bioactive compounds may manipulate the insect to stay awake and continue to transmit the pathogen for longer.”Īs creepy and strange as the fungal-cicada dance is, it could actually have implications for pharmaceuticals as the “next frontier for novel drug discovery,” said Matt Kasson, study co-author and assistant professor of forest pathology at West Virginia. “Essentially, the cicadas are luring others into becoming infected because their healthy counterparts are interested in mating,” said Lovett. In short, Massospora turns the cicadas into hyper-sexed energizer bunnies, and with a bait-and-switch from hell. ![]() When the abdomen falls off, the genitalia are lost with it - but that doesn’t stop the cicadas from their eager quest to copulate.” “The infection results in the insect’s abdomen becoming distended as it fills with powdery, white fungal spores eventually to the point of bursting open or falling off altogether. “The diseased males will also attempt to copulate with the uninfected females, exposing them to even more spores,” UConn’s research team said in a statement. In addition to entrapping fellow cicada-guys, the infected males also go after the cicada-ladies, UConn said. Between 2% and 5% of the insects are infected as nymphs while they incubate underground, the University of Connecticut said in 2018 research. ![]() Scientists have known about the fungus for about 100 years, according to the University of Connecticut, but the behavioral insights are much newer. The dedicated West Virginia cicada-philes have published their latest research, “Behavioral betrayal: How select fungal parasites enlist living insects to do their bidding,” in the journal PLOS Pathogens. This year, as in a horror movie, they’re baaaack. In essence, they become “flying salt shakers of death,” said WVU doctoral student Angie Macias, who was also part of the research team.
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