Red-eyed zombie bugs emerge hungry for sex after 17-year slumber
By Ben Cost
Terrifying moment shows former Trump admin official Camryn Kinsey faint on live television
They’re buggin’ out.
After lying dormant for nearly two decades, billions of sex-crazed cicadas will be emerging from their subterranean sleep pods hungry for love. However, this year, many will be extra horny thanks to the spread of a creepy, “The Last Of Us”-esque zombie fungus.
“Nature is stranger than any science fiction that’s ever been written,” said John Cooley, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Connecticut, told the Scientific American while describing the phenomenon.
A cicada.
3
“Nature is stranger than any science fiction that’s ever been written,” said John Cooley, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Connecticut, told the Scientific American while describing the fungus.
AFP via Getty Images
Trees across the US have already been abuzz with the hornball bugs’ siren-esque chirps after the Brood XIV class surfaced for the first time since 2008, USA Today reported.
The red-eyed insects are the second largest of the periodical cicadas, a version that hunkers down underground for years — 17 in the case of Brood XIC — as nymphs, feeding on tree sap, before surfacing when the ground temp hits the requisite 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
Explore More
Collage: Earth with Spectra of K2-18 b, obtained with James Webb Space Telescope's Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph.
Astronomers detect 'most promising signs yet' of life on other planets with shocking new discovery
Antarctic ice has made a turnaround, scientists say, with an increase in ice mass after years of depletion.
Antarctic ice has made a surprising rebound in mass, scientists say
Secret in 400-year-old map may have finally solved the mystery of Roanoke
These cyclical critters are expected to break ground in 13 states this year, including New York, according to Gene Kritsky, an entomologist at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The love bugs’ goal is to find a mate and procreate in the four to six weeks they spend above ground before dying off, the Daily Mail reported. After copulating, the female deposits eggs so that her offspring can repeat the cycle when they emerge in the year 2042.
A map of the cicadas.
3
A map showing the spots of the cicadas’ emergence.
U.S. Forest Service
See Also
The zombie producing fungus in "The Last of Us" is really in our ecosystems and impacts insects.
‘Last of Us’ zombie fungus is real — and just one of many
In fact, their earsplitting siren sound, which is so loud it has prompted police calls, is actually a mating song that’s used to attract prospective partners.
Unfortunately, for many cicadas, possibly millions, mating will be especially intense due to a genital-destroying fungi called Massospora cicadina that ramps up their sex drive and turns them into “zombies” — like those described in HBO’s sci-fi horror series “Last of Us”
Affecting both 13-year and 17-year cicadas, the spores replace the insect’s genitalia with a plug of fungus.
After hijacking the host’s system, it then urges the zombified cicada to flick its wings like an amorous female would. When healthy males try to mate with the imposters, they become infected and spread the fungus like an STD.
Cicadas.
3
The fungal phenomenon has been compared to an STD.
Gene Kritsky
In other words, they’re spreading a bug.
See Also
Fried cicadas in a potato-leek puree with chilis, peas and cauliflower.
Eating trendy Brood X cicadas: What the bug recipes taste like
“By doing so, they can infect males and females alike … and they are tricked into doing so as much as they can for as long as they can before they ultimately succumb to the fungus and die,” Smithsonian Entomologist and Collections Manager Floyd Shockley previously told the Washington Times.
“It’s sex, drugs and zombies,” quipped Cooley while describing this carnal cordycep phenomenon, which begins underground while the bugs are still nymphs.
The only way to access Joel Sherman’s columns and full expert coverage.Try it free
Aaron Judge creating invaluable Yankees edge where rest of MLB is struggling
Mets pass the first part of their litmus test with flying colors
The Yankees’ pipeline for hitters is getting better — here are the signs
Fortunately, we have nothing to fear from cicadas, zombified or otherwise.
“They are harmless, they don’t bite or sting,” Senior Research Scientist and cicada expert Dr. Chris Simon of UConn wrote to DailyMail.com.
However, cicadas are known to “pee” on people as a defense mechanism and they can be dangerous to young trees, however, as they lay their eggs in small tree branches, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The agency advises covering maturing saplings in mesh or netting to keep the insects out.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings