Parasite Makes Ants Live Longer and Tricks Others Into Worshipping Them — Scientists Now Know How

Scientists have finally uncovered how a wild parasite manages to make infected ants live longer than normal while causing other ants to treat them with reverence akin to worship. The research reveals the mechanisms by which the parasite reprograms the colony's social behaviour for its own benefit. It represents one of the most extreme examples of behavioural manipulation ever documented in the insect world.

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