myrmepropagandist@futurebird@sauropods.win

Ants when infected with Ophiocordyceps fungi will climb a blade of grass and clamp on to it with their mandibles before they die. In this way when the fungi fruit emerges it stays high up to better spread.

How can a fungi induce such a complex sequence of actions?

What if it has some relation to the fact that many bees sleep... by clamping their mandibles on to a blade of grass for the night. Could the ant be activating some deep lost sleeping routine from it's wasp ancestry?

A solitary bee sleeps by holding on to a blade of grass with his mandibles.
ALT
myrmepropagandist@futurebird@sauropods.win

Replying to @futurebird@sauropods.win

When I was looking into how bees sleep like this I found out about "festooning" this is something honeybees do and it's not well understood. When they are mapping out their honeycombs they may form chains with their bodies.

Of course army ants also make these kinds of chains when nesting in their bivouacs. (the bivouac is a nest made of the body of ants)

Ants and bees are related, and share the eusocial strategy. What else do they share?

buzzaboutbees.net/festooning-b

honeybees form a chain with their bodies as they build a comb.
ALT
Army ants form a chain with their bodies as they nest at night.
ALT
Jul 5, 2026, 22:02 UTCen