This week, we went on our first ant collection trips here in Central Florida. Being interested in parasitic manipulation of animal behavior, we mainly study the local Carpenter ants and how they get affected by a fungal parasite that turns them into so-called zombies. The fungus (Ophiocordyceps camponoti-floridani) slowly hijacks the behavioral program of the ant host (Camponotus floridanus) and makes her leave the nest to climb up the vegetation where she latches on in a final death-grip. Using a combination of genetics, genomics, behavioral ecology and neurobiology we want to find out how the fungal parasite is able to manipulate the ant’s brain. In order to study this in the lab, we needed to collect both the live ants and fungus-infected ants. A few long days in the hot Florida sun and many mosquito bites later, we have collected enough to start the Fall semester with a bang.
