Deep in the jungles of Cameroon, there exists a species of ants known as the Stink Ant the insect roams the jungle floor in search of food but often the food fights back. In this case, the food is a fungus, tomentella and the ant inhales spores from the fungus and is immediately asphyxiated. http://www.mememachinego.com/archives/001484.html

Scientists observed that after ingesting the spores the ants began to behave erratically and appear to be brainwashed by the fungus. Instantly the fungus removes the ant’s desire to remain bound to the forest floor and instead the chemicals in the fungus convince the ant to climb high into the forest canopy. Once the ant has climbed as high as it can physically go, it locks its mandibles into the bark of the tree, where it waits out its remaining hours. Once the fungus gestates within the ant’s dead body, it will “fruit” and release its spores from the new altitude, allowing it to carry its young to new heights within the forest.

With mutations and the spread of diseases and fungi becoming increasingly more common, what might happen if this fungus infects other insects?

Update: Professor Gero Miesenböck from Oxford University has made a breakthrough in controlling insect behaviors utilizing genetic enhancements and certain light patterns. With it, he can trigger male synapse responses in female brains, causing the females to produce a ‘love song’ inherent only to males. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/04/17/scifly117.xml

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