OPHIOCORDYCEPS FUNGUS Ophiocordyceps sp. AMAZONIAN ANT Dinoponera longipes Pity the ant afflicted by the mindsucker Ophiocordyceps. When spores of the fungus land on an ant, they penetrate its exoskeleton and enter its brain, compelling the host to leave its normal habitat on the forest floor and scale a nearby tree. Filled to bursting with fungus, the dying ant fastens itself to a leaf or another surface. Fungal stalks burst from the ant’s husk and rain spores onto ants below to begin the process again.
