An unidentified Cordyceps fungus parasitizing a spider. Cordyceps is an example of a parasitic fungus that releases airborne spores which infect and s

---

An unidentified Cordyceps fungus parasitizing a spider. Cordyceps is an example of a parasitic fungus that releases airborne spores which infect and slowly destroy the bodies of insects. The fungus can sometimes alter the behaviour of its host before killing it, ensuring the insect will die in a high place, enabling the spores of the fungus to be spread easily. Photographed in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

---

Size: 5174px × 3449px
Photo credit: © DR MORLEY READ/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, amazon, amazonian, america, american, animal, biological, biology, botanical, botany, cordyceps, dead, decay, ecuador, ecuadorean, ecuadorian, endoparasitic, endoparasitoid, fauna, flora, fungus, invertebrate, leaf, mycology, nature, neotropical, neotropics, parasite, parasitic, parasitism, pathological, rainforest, saprophyte, saprophytic, south, spider, tropical, tropics, wildlife, zoological, zoology