(Dead ants infected with Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, also known as zombie ant fungus. Unless, of course, you happen to be an ant. “The life cycle of this fungus is astonishing,” says Simon. For that, you’d have to turn towards something truly diabolical: a fungus called Ophiocordyceps. In fact, if you look across the natural world, you’ll find all manner of real life monsters, from blood-sucking vampires and head-invading aliens to creatures with smiles that would put a Demogorgon to shame.īut the zombifying wasp that made Simon’s cover isn’t even his favorite horror show in the book. And that’s after the wasp babies have slurped up most of the caterpillar’s insides and then popped out of its chest like some terrifying Jack-in-the-Box. The book is named after Glyptapanteles, a wasp that Jedi-mind-tricks caterpillars into serving as head-banging bodyguards for its brood. But what if I told you zombies were absolutely real-and even more skin-crawling than the fiction writers would have you believe? Just take a look at science writer Matt Simon’s new book, The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar. Thanks to hit television shows like The Walking Dead and movies like World War Z, the zombie genre has never been more popular.
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