The fungus Massospora cicadina preys on Magicicadas cicadas. This is particularly interesting because the fungus is able to prey upon them in spite of their long 17 year life cycle (apparently fungi are not phased by prime numbers).
When the fungus destroys the abdomen of male cicadas, they will behave like female cicadas and flick their wings in response to the songs of male cicadas, and attempt to mate with other males.
A photo by Roy Troutman from Brood XIV (2008):
Two photos by Dan Mozgai from Brood II (2013):
Magicicada fungus (massospora cicadina)
magicicada fungus (massospora cicadina) from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.
New from 2017: the Massospora cicadina viewed under a microscope.
Examining & measuring #Massospora spores for #MSA2017 in GA. Here's M. cicadina resting spores (#BroodVI, 2017). #fungi @MSAFungi @zygolife pic.twitter.com/b78R9VwDgP
— Matt Kasson (@kasson_wvu) July 12, 2017