Zombie fly fungus lures healthy male flies to mate with female corpses

Re:Zombie fly fungus lures healthy male flies to mate with f... by yarg on Monday July 18, 2022 @07:47PM (#32145635)

> As male flies copulate with dead females, the fungal spores are showered onto the males, who then suffer the same gruesome fate.

That doesn't seem right - it seems like it would restrict the male -> female transmission vector.

Either way, pheromone traps are an interesting concept; they don't even need to trap the victims, just separate the males and females to prevent them from breeding.

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Re:Zombie fly fungus lures healthy male flies to mate with f... by IIAOPSW on Monday July 18, 2022 @09:31PM (#32146423)

I'm willing to bet that the immediate impact of this on the size of the fly population is negligible, so the trait is selected for in the short to medium term. In the longer term, as the fungus spreads, it may be a victim of its own success. Fungi don't really understand sustainability.

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Re:Zombie fly fungus lures healthy male flies to mate with f... by robocat on Monday July 18, 2022 @08:53PM (#32146094)

Perhaps the fungus causes dead male flies to attract other male flies.

If male flies normally don’t produce the sesquiterpene pheromones, and the fungus does, and pheremones are the primary way females are recognised, then . . .

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Re:Zombie fly fungus lures healthy male flies to mate with f... by yarg on Monday July 18, 2022 @09:00PM (#32146150)

Also in ducks (no need for fungal encouragement): https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/mar/08/highereduc...

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Re:Zombie fly fungus lures healthy male flies to mate with f... by klyrs on Monday July 18, 2022 @08:19PM (#32145874)

I'm guessing the males don't suffer their fate immediately, and go on to spread the fungus to living females.

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