This fungus turns cicadas into zombies who procreate until they die - National Geographic

How does the fungus make cicadas so energetic?

Scientists have long been puzzled about how exactly the fungus energizes cicadas. Research has produced a leading theory—they're essentially high as a kite.

It turns out that the fungus that infects periodical cicadas—the broods that emerge every 13 or 17 years—is filled with cathinone, a type of amphetamine and part of the family of stimulants known as speed. Cathinone occurs naturally in one type of plant, but as Gwin noted in the episode, nobody had ever recorded a fungus quite like this. 

(What scientists are learning about the realm of medicinal fungi.)

"We found the same compound, the same exact compound in Massospora-infected cicadas," Kasson said. "And they were loaded with it, which tells us that amphetamines are probably contributing to this prolonged wakefulness." 

But this chemical compound isn't the same in every infected cicada. When Kasson studied the chalky fungal plug sticking out the back side of an annual cicada—one that emerges every year instead of periodically—he found psilocybin, the hallucinogenic compound found in magic mushrooms.

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