A predatory mushroom that eats spiders (9 photos)

Even the most skilled predator can become a victim.





Nature does not tolerate the weak, but it does not guarantee salvation to the strong. One false step, one dispute - and the spider becomes a living puppet. It seems to be covered with frost or powdered sugar - but under this imaginary tenderness there is no longer anything alive. From this moment on, the spider becomes a living tomb, a walking dead man and a favorite toy for a carnivorous fungus.



When you decide to clean your computer, and you pull this out.

Torubiella is the main character of this article. It is a fungus that is found all over the world in dark and damp corners: forests, caves, or your basement. It looks like ordinary mold, like on forgotten soup. But the fungus does not need scraps from the human table. Give it living flesh!





Only the paws remind us that this was once a living creature.

Torubiella belongs to the Cordyceps family. These are the famous parasitic fungi. They turn invertebrates into zombies. Once in the body, the fungus subjugates the will of the victim, slowly devouring its body from the inside. Each species has its own host. Some parasitize ants, some - caterpillars, torubiella chose to torment spiders.



White and fluffy, but we don't advise you to touch it!

Sounds like a plot for a hot horror movie? And it is! The creators of the zombie apocalypse game Last of Us were inspired by the Cordyceps family when writing the script. With the only small difference that the infected arthropods do not become aggressive, but are covered in white fluff and even look cute. Until you understand what is really happening to them.



If you see this, you won't sleep for a week!

The spores of the fungus are carried passively: by a gust of wind, raindrops, or when a healthy spider passes over the place where an infected one once sat. All it takes is one spore that sticks to the arthropod - and that's it, the death sentence is signed. Torubiella begins to secrete specific enzymes that destroy the strong outer chitinous cover. The goal of the fungus is to get to the tender insides of the spider to feast on its muscles and organs. Mycelium grows right in the body of the infected. In other words, mycelium. It slowly dissolves the victim's tissues and absorbs all the useful substances from them, moving deeper and deeper.



And before it seemed that nothing could make spiders even more creepy...

Is the spider alive at this time? Yes and no. What happens to it can be called a miserable existence. It no longer weaves a web or catches flies. It wanders senselessly and clumsily along the ground, barely moving its paws. The torment of the unfortunate arthropod lasts for several weeks. The hyphae of the fungus - its threads - intertwine muscle fibers and penetrate the nervous system. Having enslaved the body and will of the victim, the mushroom becomes the true master of the spider. It controls it like a puppeteer controls a marionette.



And what did you think, mushrooms also want to make their snowmen!

As soon as the parasite reaches the final stage of development, the most interesting part begins. With the spider's legs, the mushroom climbs to a place where there is semi-darkness and moisture - an ideal place to disperse spores and germinate the fruiting body. The inner world is completely captured, now the torubiella is ready to come out.



If one spider in a closed space is infected, very soon all the others will turn into zombies.

Thin threads grow out through the holes in the arthropod's covers. It looks like white fluff or frost - thousands of snow-white hairs envelop the body of a spider that has died by that time. Each such fluff carries spores that will mature and disperse, scatter on the ground and be washed away by water. Thousands of new torubiella embryos are already ready to infect other spiders. Just one tiny spore is enough, and the theater of death will begin anew. You can see it with your own eyes.



Psychologist: Zombie spiders don't exist, they can't hurt you! Zombie spider:

In attics, basements, garages and underfloors. Don't be lazy, take a flashlight and look for zombie spiders there. You are guaranteed an unforgettable experience. Don't worry, torubiella is safe for people who do not suffer from allergies. In theory, the fungus cannot infect humans. But, of course, it is better not to eat infected spiders and not to come into contact with them closer than necessary for a good photo. You don't want to become patient zero, do you?