A fly suddenly begins acting strangely. It becomes sluggish, its abdomen swells and white fuzz starts covering its body. Then, around sunset, it climbs to a high point, attaches itself to the surface and dies with its wings raised. What happens next is even more disturbing. Spores burst from the dead fly and spread to other flies below, beginning another cycle of infection, as per a report by Knowable Magazine.
The culprit is Entomophthora muscae , a parasitic fungus whose name translates to “destroyer of insects.” More than 160 years after its discovery, scientists are still trying to understand how this fungus takes control of its hosts and turns ordinary flies into what researchers describe as “zombies.”
