Parasitic Hairworm Charms Grasshopper Into Taking It for a Swim - New York Times

This is straight out of a science-fiction movie, only it’s happening right in our backyards.

Some parasitic worms have been found to grow inside the bodies of grasshoppers, slowly consuming the insides of their hosts and turning the grasshoppers into zombies. When the worms decide that they are done with the grasshoppers’ bodies, they orchestrate a return to their natural habitat, the water. The worms take control of the grasshoppers’ brains, causing the zombie grasshoppers to be overcome with a desire to “swim” to their deaths in water, even though grasshoppers are incapable of swimming.