Epic Ant Fight: Normal Ant vs. Zombie Ant

Taking a break from mountain biking some trails, I stumbled upon these two ant's fighting. After seeing this go on for about 5 minutes while eating my sandwich; I decided to pull out my iphone4. I recorded the struggle for about 9 minutes before deciding to intervene. It became clear to me (although I can be wrong, lol...) that one of the ants just wasn't right and was probably infected with some sort of parasitic fungus. They seem to be the same type of ant, so why else would they be fighting other than one being a ZOMBIE ANT!!! Read more about Zombie Ants - http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/74386/title/Daytime_bites_for_zomb...

***Before I need to read another comment explaining to me it's Ophiocordyceps (which I know a "zombie ant" is...). Read this - "Panglobal habitation of tropical forests, including those in Africa, Brazil and Thailand." Now understand this is OUTSIDE CHICAGO. Can't be a tropical ant infecting fungus; which in my opinion, make this more interesting. WHAT CAN IT BE...***

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Zombie
• Ant
• Fungus
• battle
• fight
• epic
• brain
• controlling
• zombifying
• fungi
• parasite
• Ophiocordyceps
• unilateralis

[brentpowers]

Looks like a normal ant fight to me. I've read books on ants as a kid and even watched them longer than just 10 mins at a time. They are probably from different colonies and happened to cross paths. Once an ant bites on to a limb they are not going to let go for a long time. Ants can carry more than their body weight so that's why that ant was able to carry the other ant in that submission hold :P

[Pogoc7]

@brentpowers - Attached ant looked pretty dead tho. Was stiff and looked rotten. Might have been attached to the leg for a day to two...

[WeekedZeek25]

the one with the 'stick' is the zombie ant.. It is infected with a kind of fungus called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis.. It turns ants into zombies.. and then the infected ant eventually dies...

[Pogoc7]

@WeekedZeek25 - This is outside Chicago, not a ant infecting fungus

[LAN04H]

when found by a normal worker ant, the zombies are usually drug off so they dont infect the rest of the army.

[Pogoc7]

@LAN04H - This is outside Chicago, not a ant infecting fungus 

[elliopaful]

I hope i never struggle for my life for 10 minutes while someone films it.

[caretupapa]

I am a zombie ant and I find this offensive

[ricksaburai]

Ants are relatively strong if you take into account their own weights, but zombie ants are much stronger, more resilient, dont feel pain and can "infect" healthy ants.

WTF would i do if a zombie colony showed up in my house? kill them? again?

[jvlppm]

at the climax you point the camera away...

[slowmopoke]

zombie ants are taken away from the colony

[Takorycoden]

they are actually not fighting. when a fellow worker ant stumbles upon another ant with an parasitic infection, the ant carries the zombie ant far away to let it die. so the zombie ant does not infect anymore ants with in the colony.

[snowdoggieii]

I would step on them both

[23ganglion]

at 8:53 take a look closely to the normal ant's reaction...he was like 0.0 for a second....lol

[TheLumberjackSpits]

i think it was very nice of you to help an ant in need. i'm sure he'd gladly dedicate his life to you. good samaritan!

[NerdBallers]

sad they don't have awesome warcry's

[pelaajateemu]

@brentpowers for me, it looks like Ophiocordyceps unilateralis.

[weyghrwyjdtjhjerhjwr]

@Pogoc7 the other ant just died in the fight and had its jaws locked no zombie ant