"I watched a swarm of insects of all sizes swirling above and crawling and perching upon what I first thought was a heap of ground. When I moved closer and the insects startled and cleared, I saw the body beneath. A unique suite of organisms twisted and turned in the languid flesh, no maggots or dermestids but colorful caterpillars, patrolling lady beetle larvae, and gyrating pupae positioning for emergence, some popping through the skin like heated corn kernels. – Avery Camshronach Delgado, 1969"
From Page 2 in the Bulletin of ZOMBIE Research
"In each of three, 7.62 m x 7.62 m experimental rooms, ten inactive, bare zombies were each secured in the right lateral recumbent position on a stainless steel examining table and randomly distributed with other zombies throughout the room… Zombies were maintained satiated and inactive by 5.0 mEq/hr continuous intravenous provision of pureed bovine-human meal (34.5% bovine plasma, 33.5% bovine red blood cells, and 32.0% whole-body human composite) and cleaned daily to prevent the accumulation of leaking meal and other waste. Before high rates of consumption and pupation in zombie flesh became potentially limiting to Danaus plexippus, additional zombies were added, as necessary, to maintain available food and substrate. Transfer of D. plexippus larvae from a used to an unused zombie was allowed by “spooning” or nestling the ventral surface of an unused zombie, also in the right lateral recumbent position, tightly against the dorsal surface of the used zombie and draping the left arm of the unused zombie over the shoulder of the used zombie to provide stability as well as maximum contact for larval transfer."
From Pages 5-6 in the Bulletin of ZOMBIE Research
Documentation and Potential Consequences of Alternative Host-Use by the Monarch Butterfly, Danaus plexippus L.
ABSTRACT
In 2008, significant increases in monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus L., 1758 [Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae]) populations were reported in several locations. Reported associations between arthropods and individuals with Zooanthroponotic Occult MetaBiomimetic Infectious (ZOMBI) Encephalitis or “zombies” and speculation about a potential link between zombies and D. plexippus population changes were evaluated. Field and laboratory evaluations confirmed the utilization of ZOMBI encephalitis- infected humans for feeding and pupation by D. plexippus larvae. Greater rates of egg production, hatching success, and adult eclosion led to successively greater laboratory population numbers in D. plexippus feeding and pupating in zombie flesh compared with zombie mimics or the traditional host plant of D. plexippus, showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa Torr. [Family: Apocynaceae]). Chemical analyses documented cardenolide compounds in D. plexippus, showy milkweed, and by currently unknown mechanisms of origin, in zombie tissue, as well. The supplementation of populations of arthropod species of concern may thus be accomplished by providing zombie feeding and pupation substrates. Additional research is necessary, however, to identify limitations and risks of such use, as well as to determine the origin and role of cardenolides in zombie tissue.
KEY WORDS
Apocynaceae, Asclepias speciosa, cardenolide, Danaus plexippus, Lepidoptera, milkweed, monarch butterfly, Nymphalidae, ZOMBI encephalitis, zombie
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