A rare and fascinating discovery has recently emerged from Scotland’s temperate rainforest: a species of “zombie” fungus, known as Gibellula, which infects spiders and controls their behavior before ultimately killing them. This eerie fungus, which shares characteristics with the Cordyceps fungus that inspired the terrifying world of the popular video game and TV series The Last of Us, brings the concept of mind-controlling fungi closer to reality, though, fortunately, it’s only affecting invertebrates like spiders, and not humans.
The Discovery of Gibellula
The discovery was made by amateur naturalist Ben Mitchell, who is part of the West Cowal Habitat Restoration Project on Scotland’s west coast. While walking through the rainforest, Mitchell came across a peculiar sight: a spider, covered in a candy-floss-like structure, clinging to the underside of a leaf. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the spider had fallen victim to the parasitic fungus Gibellula, which works much like Cordyceps by taking control of its host’s body.
The fungus infects spiders through spores, and as it grows inside them, it consumes their body from the inside out. In its final stage, the fungus forces the spider to move to the underside of a leaf before it dies. This strategic behavior helps protect the fungus from rain and allows it to more easily spread its spores to other spiders. After the spider dies, a mushroom-like fruiting body bursts out of its exoskeleton, ready to release new spores into the environment to infect the next host.
Here’s how it affects animals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHuHweeuIdY
Similarities to The Last of Us‘ Zombie Fungus
While the Cordyceps fungus has long been known to infect insects like ants and other arthropods, The Last of Us brought this idea to mainstream attention with its fictional scenario of a Cordyceps fungus evolving to infect humans. In the video game and TV series, the fungus creates “zombie-like” creatures, turning them into dangerous predators. This discovery in Scotland, while fascinating and creepy, does not pose any threat to humans. However, the real-world Gibellula’s behavior echoes the concept behind the video game’s terrifying creatures, making the fungal world all the more intriguing.
https://x.com/infornexcosmos/status/1842143807619682424
Ben Mitchell described the scene as “quite a surprise,” noting the striking similarities between the parasitic behaviors of Gibellula and the fictional Cordyceps that captivated audiences in The Last of Us. “The entire thing was covered in a candy floss-shaped structure,” Mitchell recounted, “with spore production occurring at an alarming rate.”
What This Means for Scotland’s Ecosystem
The discovery of the Gibellula fungus highlights the biodiversity that exists in Scotland’s Atlantic rainforest, a temperate rainforest that thrives thanks to the region’s high levels of rainfall and mild climate. These forests are rare in Europe and are often filled with unique wildlife, including various mosses, lichens, and liverworts that are typically found in warmer rainforests. This find underscores the importance of preserving these habitats, as they continue to host species that are vital to ecological balance.
The presence of Gibellula is particularly exciting because it indicates the richness of the ecosystem in Scotland’s temperate rainforests. While it has only been recorded around ten times in the past 70 years, this recent sighting shows that species like these continue to survive in remote areas, highlighting the importance of conservation efforts to protect these rare habitats.
No Need to Worry (For Now)
While the “zombie fungus” aspect might sound alarming to fans of The Last of Us, scientists assure us that there is no reason for concern about these fungi evolving to infect humans. Both Gibellula and Cordyceps are specialized to infect insects and arachnids, with no current evidence suggesting that they can jump to mammals. As eerie as their behavior might be, these fungi are just another example of the fascinating and sometimes gruesome interactions within nature.
Mitchell himself noted the unsettling implications of parasitic fungi that control their hosts, stating, “I suppose humans have this cult of the individual. We think of human beings as being separate things both from each other and the rest of the universe. So we do tend to get very disturbed by anything which involves individuals not being discrete.”
However, for now, scientists are confident that this fascinating natural phenomenon remains confined to the insect world.
But who knows? A certain virus was once said to only be dangerous for bats…
