In the fantasy movie and anime world, we can often see some human beings with the ability to manipulate their minds. They may resort to high technology, or they may simply possess this superpower. But almost everyone seems to know that all this doesn't apply to the real world. It is true that humans are unlikely to do these things, but nature has many animals that may be able to manipulate other species. This time, let xiaobian introduce you to the puppet master of the animal kingdom: 5 kinds of animals in nature with manipulation ability.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >1, control the fish's head lice</h1>
The shrunken-headed fish lice is a parasitic sea lice that inhabits the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, along the west coast of the Americas from California to Peru in the United States. The female lice can enter the fish through the gills and bite the victim's tongue, while her partner faithfully follows it and clings to the gills. She drew blood from her tongue with her paws, causing it to wither and fall off. She then reconnects to the remaining tongue and assumes the role of a fully functional tongue. Its preferred host is the snapper, but it also inhabits the mouths and gills of various other species. Once this tongue-feeding lice adapts to its new location, it continues to feed on the host's blood and mucus. The protection within the fish's mouth also provides an ideal breeding ground.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >2, ladybird cocoon bees that parasitize ladybugs</h1>
The Ladybird Cocoon Bee is a very special creature that is capable of turning ladybugs into zombie nannies. Three weeks after the wasp laid its eggs in the body of the hapless ladybug, the larvae of a wasp would emerge from her stomach and weave a cocoon between its legs. The ladybug is not dead at this point, but it becomes paralyzed, and it involuntarily twists its spotted red carapace to fend off predators until an adult wasp appears a week later. How ladybugs enslave hosts at the right time has been a mystery, but now researchers believe the insect has an accomplice, a newly discovered virus that attacks ladybird brains. The findings are the beginning of scientists' assumptions about whether other parasites will also use viruses as weapons of the nervous system.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >3, toxoplasma gondii that makes mice bolder</h1>
Toxoplasma gondii are able to exert a strange mental control over rodents, and once infected with this brain parasite, they become less likely to be afraid of cats and more easily eaten. When they appear, microbes can enter the cat's intestines to reproduce. But a new study suggests that the effects of toxoplasma gondii on rodents aren't just for cats, but rather, the parasites have simply made mice more eager to explore and less afraid of any species that might eat them.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" >4, "zombie fungus"</h1>
As you travel to tropical countries such as Brazil, venture deep into the jungle. Then you may see a strange sight on some leaves, which may be an ant clinging to the central vein of the leaf, in this case, it may indicate that the ant is dead or close to death. This is because its body is already occupied by zombie fungi. When the fungus infects an ant, it grows inside the insect, depletes nutrients and hijacks its thoughts. Over the course of a week, it forces the ants to leave the nest safely and lift nearby plant stems. It stops the ant at a height of 25 centimeters, an area with just the right temperature and humidity for the fungus to grow. It forces the ant to lock its mandible permanently on the leaf. Eventually, it grows long stems through the ant's head into bulb-shaped capsules filled with spores. And because ants usually climb up a leaf, eventually the fungus's spores fall on other ants passing below, zombifying more other ants.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >5, the wasp that controls the spider web</h1>
Many spiders hunt by weaving webs, but can you imagine that this behavior is manipulated by other creatures? For some unlucky spiders, they may have to face this situation. Some parasitic bee larvae can control their minds, forcing them to weave special nets to support and protect their cocoons. A new study suggests that the webs woven by these particular zombie spiders are reinforced versions of the webs they usually use when molting, suggesting that wasps may have hijacked this pathway in the spider's brain. At first, a parasitic wasp will swoop down to attack a spider and then stab it with a needle, causing it to temporarily paralyze. The wasp then injects an egg into the spider, or sticks it to the spider's abdomen, and it will fly away. After a few weeks, the eggs hatch into larvae and begin to grow by punching holes in the spider's abdomen and sucking blood. When it reaches the final stage of development, the larvae somehow induce the spider to weave webs and form cocoons, but this does not happen until it has killed the spider and sucked the spider dry.