They are honey bees that have been parasitized by the Zombie Fly Apocephalus borealis. Fly-parasitized honey bees become "ZomBees" showing the "zombie-like behavior" of leaving their hives at night on "a flight of the living dead." Read our discovery paper

The fly is native to most of North America. It has expanded its host range to include the non-native honey bee, the most important pollinator of agricultural crops. Read more