Don’t worry though, unless you’re a spider.
The fungus that inspired The Last of Us was originally found in Scotland over 70 years ago.
It has only been recorded about 10 times over the years and is called the Gibellula fungus, a type of Cordycipitaceae related to the Cordyceps fungus.
As per The Times, it was recently found in a Scottish rainforest.
The fungus itself typically affects spiders and turns them into “zombies.”
Once the fungus attaches itself to a victim, the Gibellula eats the host from the inside out leaving the exoskeleton whole.
It then erupts a “fruiting body” and spreads further spores ready to attack its next victim.
Amateur naturalist Ben Mitchell spoke to the Ecologist who is a part of the research team, the West Cowal Habitat Restoration Project, which studies different types of fungus across Scotland.
“It’s been great to be part of this project, and I’ve found so many species, but my favourite by far has definitely been the Gibellula fungus,” he said.
“It’s part of a group of fungi that are known for turning their victims into ‘zombies’, compelling them to act in a certain way before killing them.”
“Gibellula seems to make spiders move to the underside of leaves, before sticking them there.”
“It’s maybe so that when they fruit, the spores are protected from the rain, and can drop onto other unsuspecting spiders more easily.”
“It’s a bit grim, but it’s all part of the remarkable natural world,” he added.
No need to worry yet though The Last of Us fans, even though the Cordyceps fungus is real – it can’t affect humans as it only affects insects and other arthropods!
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