This fungus turns cicadas into 'zombies' after being sexually transmitted

Turns out humans, aren’t the only creature that can ride the psychedelic wave that comes with ingesting fungus.

Except the side effects for cicadas, a flying pest, are quite deadly. We are talking a reaction akin to something you would see on “The Walking Dead” or maybe “The Last of Us,” as the decrepit creatures fly about, losing body parts and infecting any other cicadas they touch with the fatal fungus.

The fungus, known in the scientific community as Massospora cicadina, is a sexually transmitted pathogen that results in severe dismemberment and eventually death, USA TODAY reported in 2020. 

The chemicals found in cicadas after they have been infected are similar to those found in hallucinogenic mushrooms, according to a study published by PLOS Pathogens in 2020. 

An NBC affiliate in Chicago reported that the fungus was seen among the cicada population recently. But this isn’t the first time, John Cooley, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut confirmed with USA TODAY Wednesday. 

The same thing happened four years ago, when the “mind-controlling” disease ravaged members of that year's cicada brood, according to previous USA TODAY reporting. At least 10% of cicadas in the Midwest were infected with the fungus, Cooley told the Independent. 

The issue is "even stranger than science fiction. This is a sexually transmitted zombie disease,” Cooley said. 

Here’s what we know. 

Cicada overload:2 broods to emerge together in US for first time in over 200 years

What does the ‘zombification’ process look like? 

The zombification of a cicada or cicada swarm is pretty graphic, the white fungus pooling in its crevices. 

Cooley told the Independent that once the fungus takes over a male cicada’s body, their testes are the first to go, sterilizing the insect before killing it. 

The infected cicada in question spreads the chalky white spores to other cicadas, sharing the sexually transmitted pathogen across the population, according to reporting by the Independent. 

How does the sexually transmitted pathogen affect cicadas? 

Well, it's not very pretty. 

The disease acts like a parasite, eating its way through the flying insect’s limbs and other parts of their body. Infected cicadas begin to lose those limbs bit by bit until there’s nothing left. 

These “zombies” very quickly become a threat to any and all neighboring cicadas, as males take flight, continuing to spread the fungus around, USA TODAY reported.  

The fungus causes infected males to jerk their wings, making a familiar humming noise only made by female cicadas. The noise attracts other males, who think there is a female ready to mate. 

“Thus spreading the fungus to the attracted males,” until there is no healthy cicada left in the bunch. 

The fungus is considered a death sentence, building up in the abdomen and destroying them from the inside out as the fungal spores grow, USA TODAY reported. Its “a disturbing display of B-horror movie proportions," a press release from West Virginia University states. 

Contributing: Autumn Schoolman; USA TODAY