Ranging freely lately, the cicada, a creature that is outside of range of fuzzy, fluffy, cute or even slightly attractive. They emerge from the bowels of hell every 17 number of years and carpet the land, cover the trees, sing or talk or whatever it’s call. But this year was a special year, according to Smithsonian Magazine, “Cicadas Fall Prey to a Psychedelic-Producing Fungus That Makes Their Butts Fall Off;This ‘zombie’ fungus isn’t going after the bugs’ brains—it’s after their genitals.
Cicadas are a sex-crazed species. Males sing the song of summer at the same volume as a lawnmower to attract mates, as residents of the mid-Atlantic and midwestern United States will experience this year with the emergence of Brood X.
But a fungus called Massospora can take it up a notch, Karen Zamora reports for NPR. This white, chalky fungus infects about five percent of cicadas. It takes over their bodies and produces cathinone, an amphetamine, that makes the bugs mate even more. Massospora sticks out of the bug’s back instead of genitals, so every time the infected bug attempts to mate is an opportunity for the fungus to spread.
“This is stranger than fiction,” says West Virginia University mycologist Matt Kasson to NPR. “To have something that’s being manipulated by a fungus, to be hypersexual and to have prolonged stamina and just mate like crazy.” (Find more in the Smithsonian)
OH, it gets WORSE……
Billions of Brood X cicadas are emerging after being underground for 17 years. As many in the eastern U.S. anxiously await their arrival, others are preparing their plates for what they say is a delicacy…..
Oooooh. Crunchy. . . . .
Lunch anyone?
“[It’s] really common around the world to eat insects seasonally, for their taste, for their nutritional importance,” Fanzo said. “And even here in the United States, some Native American populations consumed cicadas in times of hardship, when their land was taken from them and they faced starvation. For some Native American populations, these foods have historical importance for their survival. But it’s all about what you’re used to.” Source: CBS
Welcome to Free Range Free Chat; the place to be to talk about not JUST cicadas, but all forms of life, the environment which keeps us animated (unless you’re zombified like our cicadas…..) our planet and anything else that comes to mind. Pets stories always welcome; anything goes within reason; Whatcha got peeps? and what are YOU having for lunch?
