Figure 1.
Ant-infecting fungi of the genus Ophiocordyceps. Photographs of the five ant-infecting Ophiocordyceps fungi compared in this study as they emerge from their hosts. (a) O. kimflemingiae emerging from a C. castaneus ant that has died biting a twig and grasping it with the legs. Ghanaian Ponerine ants infected by local (b) O. australis s.l. and (c) O. subramanianii s.l. species that were manipulated to bite on vertical stems of small, understory vegetation. (d) O. camponoti-rufipedis emerging from a leaf biting C. rufipes ant, collected in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. (e) An O. australis s.l. species from that same region as found on Ponerine ants. Here, biting behavior is not induced and the ant dies in the leaf litter.