时差N小时:蚂蚁感染真菌变"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.

实验显示如果感染上真菌的蚂蚁被从这些地方移走，真菌就会停止生长。一旦找到适于真菌生长的位置，蚂蚁会咬住叶片的叶脉，真菌就会长出菌丝穿过蚂蚁的大脑。那听起来真讨人厌。事实上要远比这儿令人讨厌。当真菌生长到足够大时，它会射出可繁殖的子实体。蚂蚁看上去头部涨了犄角或鹿角，新的孢子从子实体上脱落，会感染上更多的蚂蚁。

bite down 一口咬下去 hypha n.菌丝 gross adj.令人讨厌的 fruiting body 子实体