The fungus takes over cicadas’ lower halves and sex drives, fueling them to keep mating and spreading the disease in the process. That's why some scientists call them “flying salt shakers of death.”
Their attempts at reproduction, doomed from the start, only fuel the virus’ spread, a group of scientists at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History told NPR in a statement.
Is this a fungus or a virus?
Can’t a fungus spread through direct contact?
Sure, but that quote calls it a “virus” but the headline says “fungus”.
Wow, totally missed that. Definitely weird
It’s likely a fungus.
Cordyceps do this to other insects all the time. Hijacking insects and using them to spread their spores is there evolutionary niche.
Edit: I bothered to read the article here’s a Wikipedia link to the fungus in the article.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massospora_cicadina