A BBC documentary crew recently made a creepy discovery while exploring an abandoned storeroom in Northern Ireland: a new fungus that turns spiders into zombies. Named Gibellula attenboroughii, the fungus takes over by growing rootlike structures that drill into the exoskeleton of the shaded orb weaver spider, allowing it to manipulate the host’s movements. The unlucky arachnid then abandons its web and crawls into an open area to die. This positioning helps the fungus catch air currents to spread its spores as efficiently as possible. Researchers have drawn comparisons to Ophiocordyceps, a fungus that controls ants and inspired the hit video game and TV show The Last of Us.
Understanding how this new fungus works could help humans: A chemical produced by a relative of Ophiocordyceps is already used in drugs to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients, for example. “These are nature’s chemists,” says Harry Evans, an author on a study about the new fungus. “We must find ways of identifying these before more natural ecosystems disappear along with the fungi.”