Which fungus is famous for manipulating carpenter ants before killing them?

Which fungus is famous for manipulating carpenter ants before killing them? Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is the zombie-ant fungus known for this behavior.

Its spores infect susceptible carpenter ants, especially ants in the genus Camponotus. The fungus alters the ant’s behavior, driving it away from the canopy and toward a humid location near the forest floor. The infected ant then clamps its mandibles onto a leaf vein in a characteristic “death grip.”

After the ant dies, the fungus grows through its body and eventually produces a fruiting structure that releases spores. The chosen height and humidity help maximize reproduction and transmission to other ants.

Popular accounts often say the fungus controls the ant’s brain directly, but the biology is more complicated. Fungal cells and chemical signals affect muscles and behavior, and related Ophiocordyceps species can specialize in different ant hosts. Scientists also use “O. unilateralis” broadly for a group of closely related zombie-ant fungi.