Updated June 3, 2026 09:14AM
West Virginia
West Virginia professor is collecting sex-crazed zombie cicadas on speed
LISLE, Illinois (AP) — With their bulging red eyes and their alien-like mating sound, periodical cicadas can seem scary and weird enough. But some of them really are sex-crazed zombies on speed, hijacked by a super-sized fungus.
West Virginia University mycology professor Matt Kasson, his 9-year-old son Oliver, and graduate student Angie Macias are tracking the nasty fungus, called Massospora cicadina. It is the only one on Earth that makes amphetamine — the drug called speed — in a critter when it takes over. And yes, the fungus takes control over the cicada, makes them hypersexual, looking to spread the parasite as a sexually transmitted disease.
“They’re zombies, completely at the mercy of the fungus,” said University of Connecticut cicada researcher John Cooley.
This particular fungus has the largest known genome of any fungus. It has about 1.5 billion base pairs, about 30 times longer than many of the more common fungi we know, Kasson said. And when these periodical cicadas live underground for 17 years (or 13 years in the U.S. South), the spores generally stay down there with them.
“This was a mycological oddity for a long time,” Kasson said. “It’s got the biggest genome. It produces wild compounds. It keeps the host active — all these quirks to it.”
Kasson decided to ask people from around the country to send in infected cicadas this year. And despite an injured leg, Kasson, his son and Macias travelled from West Virginia to the Morton Arboretum outside Chicago, where others have reported the fungus that takes over a cicada’s nether parts, dumping the genitalia and replacing it with a white, gummy yet flaky plug that’s pretty noticeable. The spores then fall out like salt from a shaker.
Infected cicadas are supposed to be hard to find.
Ten seconds after she hops off the golf cart, Macias is in the trees, looking. She emerges victorious, hand in the air with a cicada, yelling “I got one.”
“That was just lucky,” Oliver whines.
“Luck, huh? Let’s see you get one,” Macias replies.
Ten seconds later at a neighboring bush, Oliver finds another. And just a bit after that a photographer finds a third.
Kasson and his small team collected 36 infected cicadas in his brief Chicago area jaunt with people sending him another 200 or so from all over. He’s still waiting for an RNA analysis of the fungus.
Some cicada experts have estimated maybe one in 1,000 of the periodical cicadas are infected with this fungus, but it’s not much more than a guess. Mount St. Joseph University’s Gene Kritsky, a biologist who wrote the book on this year’s unique dual emergence, said it might be skewed because the healthy cicadas stay higher up in the trees.
This year “the fungus is about how it always is,” Cooley said in an email. “It’s not super common.”
There’s debate among scientists if the fungus infects more cicadas deep in the soil coming out of the ground after 13 or 17 years or if it infects the newly hatched nymphs on the way underground for more than a decade.
This fungus isn’t the type of parasite that kills its host, but instead it needs to keep it alive, Kasson said. Then the infected cicadas attempt to mate with others, spreading the spores to its mate/victim. The males even pretend in their hypersexualized state to be females to entice and infect other males, he said.
The cousin to this fungus which infects annual cicadas out west also makes a psychoactive compound in the cicadas but it is more akin to psychedelics like magic mushrooms, Kasson said. So sometimes people, even experts, mix up the amphetamine that the infected 17- and 13-year cicadas produce with the more trippy compounds of the annual bugs, he said.
Either way, don’t try it at home. Even though cicadas themselves are edible, not so much the infected ones.
In the interest of science, Kasson tried one during this emergence, making sure they were from the inside of a female so more antiseptic.
“Man, it was so bitter,” Kasson said, explaining that he immediately rinsed his mouth out. “It tasted like something you would consider poisonous.”
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Keyser opponents face a tough decision in deciding whether or not to pitch to one of the most feared and productive hitters across West Virginia in Riley ‘Bibs’ Felton.
Class AAA No. 6 PikeView elected not to and intentionally walked Felton to start the bottom of the seventh inning with an elimination matchup tied at 3.
That move backfired when Brielle Root followed by belting a double to deep right field that allowed Felton to easily score the winning run as Keyser prolonged its season at least another game with a 4-3 win at The Rock Field B at Little Creek Park.
“I had the feeling she was getting walked again, but that’s exactly why we have Brielle behind her,” Golden Tornado coach Cody Spotts said. “If you don’t throw to Bibs, you have to throw to Brielle. That’s a tough one-two.”
KHS (25-7) will next face Herbert Hoover late Wednesday in another elimination game.
Root’s winning knock came off PikeView (23-9) pitcher Shelby Maddox, who threw every inning of all three Panther state tournament contests.
“We wanted to show everybody that we belong here our first time here,” Panthers’ coach Steve Compton said. “We had a solid tournament. I’m proud of them. We did well and represented our school well.”
Felton singled and scored to give the Golden Tornado the first run.
PikeView countered in the top of the second to get even, but fell behind again in that inning following back-to-back singles
The Golden Tornado started freshman Sophie Lambka at pitcher, but she was lifted in the third in favor of Leighton Johnson after Maddox hit a line drive that deflected off Lambka’s foot.
“Leighton is our upperclassman and our ace, but Sophie has been fantastic this year as a freshman,” Spotts said. “Unfortunately she caught one right off the foot. Her status for tonight’s game is to be determined. We have the confidence her, but we were trying to save Leighton’s arm a little bit for innings tonight, so we’ll just have to adjust.”
Despite PHS scoring twice in an inning highlighted by Emma Compton’s double, Johnson settled in as her outing progressed. With PikeView in front 3-2 in the fourth, Johnson got out of a jam by striking out Emma Weiss.
“A lot of times, it’s about who gets a timely hit or makes that costly error,” Compton said.
That set the stage for Felton, who led off the fifth with a triple and scored on a productive out from Root to knot the affair at 3.
Johnson retired the side in order in the sixth and overcame an error to keep PikeView from scoring in the seventh, allowing the Golden Tornado to then rely on the heart of their order to deliver, which is precisely what it did.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games against good competition,” Spotts said, “and that’s what’s prepped us for this moment.”
Explore the peaks and valleys of the Allegheny Range on two wheels
(Photo: Pocahontas County)
Some places are just made for biking. Start with just-right rolling terrain, add diverse riding surfaces from singletrack to country roads, and top it all off with epic scenery. That’s Pocahontas County, West Virginia, home to the rolling Allegheny Mountains and shady trails of the Monongahela National Forest and rightfully known as Nature’s Mountain Playground. It’s a place with accessible outdoor adventure for all ages and vibrant mountain towns that ground the experience in welcoming rural communities. And when you explore from the seat of a bike, you’ll go at the perfect pace for taking it all in, with long-distance rail trails, scenic highways, and world-class mountain biking terrain to guide your way.
Ride the Rails
A day of cycling along Pocahontas County’s river trails is one of the most immersive ways to experience the quiet splendor of the Alleghenies. Get a taste along the iconic Greenbrier River Trail, which meanders alongside its namesake waterway for 78 miles through lush forests and thriving wildlife habitats. Go the full distance or take it in sections. With a grade of less than 1% throughout, the trail is accessible to most riders—gravel and mountain bikes or e-bikes are recommended—while unique features like its 37 bridge crossings and two 400-plus-foot tunnels make it more than just a simple river ride. The same can be said of the 22-mile West Fork Trail, a remote route that offers plenty of opportunities for hiking and fishing side quests. E-bikes are not permitted on this trail since it’s within the Monongahela National Forest.
Pocahontas County Trails
Sample the Singletrack
Beginner, expert, or somewhere in between? No matter where you are on the mountain biking spectrum, Pocahontas County has trails for you. Novice riders can experience a truly unique outing at the Green Bank Observatory, home to the world’s largest steerable radio telescope, along with 15-plus miles of beginner and intermediate trails. If you’re looking to progress your skills, head to the Mower Basin Trail System, a haven of beginner and intermediate riding where shady singletrack opens to rolling meadows and panoramic views along 12-plus miles of stacked loop trails. Mower Basin is also a conservation success story—once cleared for strip mining, the area is now a budding home for both red spruce trees and outdoor recreation.
Mower Basin Trails
Meanwhile, the downhill mecca of Snowshoe Mountain Resort plays host to nearly 40 trails and 1,500 vertical feet of lift-serviced riding, offering everything from easy freeride trails to technical descents and park-focused features. Known as one of the East’s best mountain bike parks, Snowshoe also offers access to its own backcountry trail system.
Snowshoe Mountain Resort Trails
Country Roads
When it comes to road riding, the jewel of Pocahontas County is the Highland Scenic Highway. This 43-mile National Scenic Byway is the kind of road that cyclists dream of. This low-traffic route climbs from 2,325 feet to more than 4,500, delivering challenging terrain and expansive views of some of the most remote reaches of the Allegheny Range along the way.
And while all cycling is great in Nature’s Mountain Playground, gravel riders are especially spoiled. That’s because the Mon Forest Towns Partnership has put together an extensive collection of gravel routes throughout the Monongahela National Forest, with 60-plus rides ranging from casual day adventures to serious multiday bikepacking trips. An overnight or all-day ride in Pocahontas County is an ideal way to experience one of the country’s most rugged and remote landscapes, fittingly curated by those who call it home.
Pocahontas County Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCCVB), located in West Virginia, promotes Nature’s Mountain Playground, where unspoiled landscapes, rich heritage, and year-round outdoor recreation create meaningful visitor experiences. Through strategic marketing and partnerships, PCCVB supports sustainable tourism that strengthens local communities while preserving the region’s natural beauty and cultural legacy.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – West Virginia Virtual Academy celebrated its second graduating class Tuesday at the Clay Center.
The ceremony featured a keynote speech and performance from West Virginia native and season six winner of America’s Got Talent’ Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., where he set out to inspire the class.
The class graduated 140 students, with eight earning a Promise Scholarship and 26 intending to attend college in the fall.
The academy’s director Doug Cipoletti said the virtual learning is about more than sitting behind a screen.
“Then we provide this [ceremony] where kids can actually come together and meet one another and build those relationships,” Cipoletti said. “So yes, we’re a virtual school, but there’s a lot more to it than just being behind a computer and I think that really shows today.”
West Virginia Virtual Academy is a K-12 school.
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