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An award-winning photo captures a ‘zombie’ fungus erupting from a fly

Biologist and photographer Roberto García-Roa took the photo while visiting the Peruvian Amazon

A close-up of a 'zombie' fungus erupting from the body of a fly. The fungus has long, thin stalks ending in puffy 'heads'.

Fruiting bodies of a “zombie” fungus erupt from the body of a fly in this winning picture from the 2022 BMC Ecology and Evolution photography competition.

Roberto García-Roa

By Richard Kemeny

Sometimes a photo is literally a matter of life, death — and zombies.

This haunting image, winner of the 2022 BMC Ecology and Evolution photography competition, certainly fits that description.