Summary
A fungus infects a fly, takes over its body, and makes it climb high before releasing spores to spread. Deep Look shows this eerie real-life example of how one living thing can control and consume another.
Viewer safety
Deep Look films tiny creatures in extreme macro close-up, so a squeamish class may find this one intense -- preview if that's a concern.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
This fungus grows inside a fly, uses it up, and drives it to a high spot to scatter new spores. It's a striking example of how living things in a habitat are connected -- one relying on another.
- What does the fungus do to the fly?
- Why does the fungus make the fly climb up high?
- How does this show that living things in a habitat depend on each other?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: fungus, spore, host, infect.
Try it: Draw the fungus's cycle: infect fly -> climb -> release spores -> infect more. Write how it spreads to new flies.