時差N小時:螞蟻感染真菌變"僵尸“(下)

Experiments have shown that if infected ants are moved from those locations, the fungus won'tdevelop. Once in ideal locations, the ants bite down on the leaf's vein and the fungus growshypha, or fungal threads, throughout their bodies. That sounds gross. It gets grosser morethan that.When the fungus is large enough, it sends up a reproductive shoot called a fruitingbody. The ant looks like it has a horn or antlers growing out of its head. New spores rain downfrom the fruiting body and infect more ants.

實驗顯示如果感染上真菌的螞蟻被從這些地方移走，真菌就會停止生長。一旦找到適于真菌生長的位置，螞蟻會咬住葉片的葉脈，真菌就會長出菌絲穿過螞蟻的大腦。那聽起來真討人厭。事實上要遠比這兒令人討厭。當真菌生長到足夠大時，它會射出可繁殖的子實體。螞蟻看上去頭部漲了犄角或鹿角，新的孢子從子實體上脫落，會感染上更多的螞蟻。

bite down 一口咬下去 hypha n.菌絲 gross adj.令人討厭的 fruiting body 子實體