Parasite Zombie Beetle

A scary fungus that could star in its own horror movie is on the loose. It's taking control of goldenrod soldier beetles and turning them into contagious zombies, as a recent study discovered.

The fungus has a creepy but clever way of doing things: After infecting the goldenrod soldier beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) for about two weeks, it makes the beetle climb up a plant and bite onto a flower.

After that, the beetle dies, hanging like a scarecrow from the flower. This gives the fungus a good chance to spread to other beetles nearby, explained Donald Steinkraus, the researcher leading the study and a bug expert at the University of Arkansas.

Adult C. pensylvanicus may seem like wasps or bees, but they're actually harmless beetles. They play a crucial role as pollinators, living for about a year, according to Steinkraus. Their babies are quite hungry, devouring other bugs and maybe even ticks.

Steinkraus got curious when he discovered a fungus (Eryniopsis lampyridarum) turning these "pretty" beetles into zombies. He collected nearly 500 live and dead beetles to investigate.

His experiments showed that a beetle becomes infected when fungal spores from a dead beetle stick to its body. The spores then grow inside the beetle, breaking through its outer shell. Eventually, the fungus makes the beetle climb a plant, where it latches on before dying on "the same flowers healthy beetles visit for pollen and mating." Though it's unclear how the fungus controls the zombie beetles, Steinkraus thinks chemical signals are involved.

"The dead beetle hangs there all day, and around 2 a.m. the next night, the fungus starts growing out of its abdomen," Steinkraus explained. "The dead beetle opens its wings, expanding them as if in flight. This exposes the fungal spores and might attract healthy beetles."

According to Steinkraus, it's "spooky" that the fungus can make the dead beetle open its wings. He likened it to human zombies — deceased bodies that can move. "It would be like a dead human suddenly standing up and opening its arms," he remarked.