No kidding. This post is about sex, plus it’s about some really gross body things, so please do not read it unless you are mature.
With that disclaimer in place, there’s no point beating around the bush: there are some bugs that get high and then have orgies that go on until their butts explode.
Yep. I told you. You didn’t believe me and now you have exploding bug butts on your mind.
Let’s get some more details, shall we?
The bugs in question are Cicadas. The substance in question is a fungus called Massopra.
When Cicadas are exposed to the fungus, they lose their minds and start fornicating with every other Cicada they can. Male Cicadas even act like females to get other males to get busy with them.\
This bug orgy goes on even as the Cicada’s bodies begin to disintegrate. Their butts literally explode and leak fungus goop. But they keep on messing around. They are so high that they don’t care their bodies are falling apart.
Scientists have known about this phenomenon for a while, but nobody ever thought to examine the fungus to see what is in there that makes these bugs get so crazy. Until now.
Researchers at West Virginia University found a hallucinogenic compound and a chemical that is basically like methamphetamine. Well that would explain it.
This fungus is pretty clever, because it creates the uncontrollable desire to have sex, and then uses the Cicadas own bodies to spread itself to other Cicadas (and all over the place really).
Now I want a shower.
The study was published in the journal Fungal Ecology.