Gallery

We’ve amassed a large collection of unpublished videos and photos in working with zombie flies. Here are some classics.

Videos

Graduate student Julius Tabin explains zombie flies!

This male courted and began mating with a female fly as she was dying of the fungal infection. He is now stuck to her via his genitalia due to fungal growths emanating from her genitalia.

This is a video I took of the bait from which I captured E. muscae in my backyard, back in late summer 2015. (The zombies have been removed.) I was impressed that there were so many kinds of Drosophilids hanging out in my neighborhood, and honored that they chose to dine on my rotten fruit.

Photos

E. muscae-killed fruit flies attached to a wooden dowel

A vial of E. muscae exposed flies shortly after sunset, featuring many flies dead on the wooden dowels.

Two exposed flies: one on left, no sign of infection; one on right, excessive E. muscae growth in abdomen apparent by “creamy belly” phenotype.

A rare find: this cadaver has E. muscae growth coming out of its head!

Lots of flies killed by E. muscae

Living flies that had previously been exposed to E. muscae. Fly in middle right has melanization on eye, indicating a point of entry by fungus during exposure.

Cadaver on right is laying egg

E. muscae-killed fruit flies on a flug.

A surviving male fly is stuck via genitalia to a female cadaver. Mating began when the female was still alive, but struggling. The attachment of the flies is mediated by fungal “glue”.

Melanization on eye isn’t a pupil, it’s a scar from a place where fungus entered the fly.

An E. muscae cadaver with “glue” coming out of proboscis.

E. muscae-killed fruit fly stuck via proboscis to wooden dowel. Fly is also attached via the gripping legs.

E. muscae-killed fruit fly

E. muscae-killed fruit fly stuck via proboscis to the flug (cotton vial closure). Flug was removed before picture was taken, hence it’s upright instead of downward orientation.

E. muscae-cadaver adhered to vial side by proboscis. Several spores have shot off from cadaver, leaving a “halo” around the fly body.

E. muscae-cadaver adhered to vial side by proboscis.

E. muscae-cadaver adhered to vial side by proboscis. The blurry dots are fly leavings.

E. muscae-killed fruit fly sporulating onto an agar plate. Fungal growth out through the intersegmental membranes give a banded appearance. <prop id="gray-calibration-value

E. muscae-killed fruit fly sporulating onto an agar plate. Fungal growth out through the intersegmental membranes give a banded appearance.

E. muscae grown in vitro and stained for DNA via Hoechst 33342 (blue).

Secondary spores germinating in vaseline.

Spore (primary conidium) giving rise to secondary conidium (mulligan spore). Once formed, the secondary conidium can fire for another chance at infecting a new host.

E. muscae culture grown in vitro

Dishes set up to collect E. muscae spores via the descending method.

E. muscae grown in vitro.

Fruit flies expressing pan-neuronal GFP.

A pulled capillary needle loaded with Rhodamine B.

A microscope equipped with a red filter for circadian experiments.