Nature's real-life zombies you never knew existed

Voodoo zombie powder - A Harvard ethnobotanist who investigated Haitian zombies found out that "zombie powder," was being used by voodoo priests in the '80s to turn people into zombies. It turned out that this powder contained a toxin found in puffer fish. This toxin can lead to paralysis while consciousness is not lost.

7 / 31 Fotos

Jewel wasps and cockroaches - Wasps seem to have zombie superpowers. The jewel wasp, for instance, can turn cockroaches into zombies.

8 / 31 Fotos

Jewel wasps and cockroaches - The wasp stings the roach in the brain. The venom allows for the wasp to cut off the roach's antennae and lead it into a burrow. The wasp then proceeds to seal the burrow.

9 / 31 Fotos

Jewel wasps and cockroaches - The wasp then lays an egg on the cockroach. The larva digs a hole and enters the roach's body and eats it from the inside out.

10 / 31 Fotos

Zombie ants - A fungus called Ophiocordyceps can infect carpenter ants.

11 / 31 Fotos

Zombie ants - The fungus causes the ants' jaws to become atrophied, so when they bite a leaf they get locked and remain there until they die.

12 / 31 Fotos

Zombie ants - The zombie fungus then grows from the ant's head and spores fall onto the floor, where it infects more ants.

13 / 31 Fotos

Necrosis - The stereotypical image of zombies decomposing is not that far from the truth in humans, if we consider something like necrosis.

14 / 31 Fotos

z -

This is essentially when cells die prematurely. Instead of only getting rid of dead cells, the body also "attacks" healthy living cells. Luckily necrosis is mostly localized (e.g. following an injury).

15 / 31 Fotos

Necrosis - Necrotizing fasciitis, on the other hand, is a serious disease caused by flesh-eating bacteria. But don't panic about decomposing while being alive—this condition is actually quite rare.

16 / 31 Fotos

African trypanosomiasis - African trypanosomiasis, also known as 'sleeping sickness,' is spread by the tsetse fly.

17 / 31 Fotos

African trypanosomiasis - Mostly found in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, symptoms include extreme tiredness, insomnia, and slurred speech, among others.

18 / 31 Fotos

African trypanosomiasis - Infected people pretty much turn into zombies before they eventually fall into a coma and die.

19 / 31 Fotos

Pregnant crab zombies - A barnacle called Loxothylacus panopaei is responsible for turning small crabs into zombies. They make the crabs infertile and take over their reproductive system.

20 / 31 Fotos

Pregnant crab zombies - Rhithropanopeus harrisii (also known as dwarf crabs and white-fingered mud crabs) carry the parasite's larvae as if they were their own.

21 / 31 Fotos

Mind-controlled grasshoppers - Grasshoppers and crickets can get infected by an aquatic parasite called Nematomorph hairworm.

22 / 31 Fotos

Mind-controlled grasshoppers - But grasshoppers and crickets are not aquatic animals and the hairworms need to swim and find a mate when they mature. So they try to get their hosts into water.

23 / 31 Fotos

Mind-controlled grasshoppers -

They do this by producing proteins that affect the grasshopper's central nervous system and their response to water, basically brainwashing them to jump into water!

24 / 31 Fotos

Sexy zombie frogs - Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a deadly fungus which has been responsible for the extinction of many amphibian species.

25 / 31 Fotos

Sexy zombie frogs - But nature adapts, and some species have developed a tolerance to the fungus and don't actually die from it.

26 / 31 Fotos

Sexy zombie frogs - The fungus turns Japanese tree frogs into irresistible heartthrobs. Infected frogs make a different mating call from their healthy rivals. The sound they make is actually more attractive to females!

27 / 31 Fotos

Zombie amber snail - The amber snail can get infected by a parasite called Leucochloridium paradoxum. They do so by eating the parasite's eggs found in bird's excrement.

28 / 31 Fotos

Zombie amber snail - As the parasite grows, it enlarges the snail's tentacles, giving them vivid colors.

29 / 31 Fotos

Zombie amber snail -

The colors attract birds, so they'll eat the snails. The parasite lays eggs inside the bird, the bird poops, and the cycle begins all over again.

30 / 31 Fotos

0 / 31 Fotos

Zombie deer -

Chronic wasting disease (CWD), also known as 'zombie deer disease,' is a neurological disease that can affect deer, moose, and elk.

1 / 31 Fotos

Zombie deer - Infected animals look like zombies. They lose weight, display abnormal behavior, and their bodily functions eventually shut down and death occurs.

2 / 31 Fotos

Zombie deer - CWD is similar to BSE (mad cow disease), and but there have been no recorded cases of human infection so far.

3 / 31 Fotos

Wasp and caterpillar - A wasp called Glyptapanteles lays eggs in the body of a caterpillar.

4 / 31 Fotos

Wasp and caterpillar - The larvae will then feed on the caterpillar's body fluids until they enter the pupal stage and start forming cocoons.

5 / 31 Fotos

6 / 31 Fotos