Attack of the killer fungus

Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungus that feeds on insects and arthropods. An illustration of this is in our textbook on page 542, figure 14.13. The most common of species of the genus Cordyceps is Cordyceps sinensis is also known as the "caterpillar fungus." Upon doing research for this topic, I could not find a basic overview of the genus Cordyceps, so I will briefly discuss some of the species.
Cordyceps sinensis is found on the Tibetan Plateau and preys on ghost moths primarily. Spores will infect the host while they are underground larvae, then germinate, ultimately killing and mummifying the host. Eventually a fruiting body will burst from the host. The fruiting body is an ascocarp and usually grows up to 10 cm long and .5 cm wide. They are usually orange and can be brown as well.
Cordyceps militaris is parasitic on buried larvae and pupae pf insects and grows alone usually in summer and fall. It is widely distrubuted in North America and is most popular in the Rocky Mountains. The fruiting body is about 2 to 8 cm long and can be up to .5 cm wide. It is club shaped with the top wider than the base. Described as orange and often curved, it narrows at the base and arises from the buried pupa or larvae.

There are more than 400 species of Cordyceps. They can take many different shapes and sizes and infect numerous hosts. The mind blowing video below describes in detail how Cordyceps affects a hosts. Imagine if this fungus could somehow become so advanced that it could infect humans. It would be something straight out of a science fiction horror movie!

For more information on Cordyceps check these websites out:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3175130/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_sinensis