Some species of the fungal genus Ophiocordyceps that parasitize ants have evolved some degree of behavioral manipulation to increase their own transmission. Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) infected by Ophiocordyceps unilateralis species climb vegetation and bite leaves or other plant parts before death, while other ants infected by other Ophiocordyceps species die buried within or on the leaf-litter, attached to stems and tree trunks. The microenvironment of the host's death location is important for fungal development and dispersal to new hosts, being an interesting example of an extended phenotype. This study investigated the effect of humidity variation in space (15 km²) and time (14 months) on the occurrence and expression of the extended Ophiocordyceps phenotype parasitizing ants in Central Amazonia. We found O. unilateralis s.l., O. kniphofioides s.l. and O. australis s.l. parasitizing 30 ant species, but O. unilateralis s.l. was by far the most abundant fungus. Parasitized Camponotus atriceps and C. bispinosus were more abundant and died in higher places in periods with greater air humidity. Otherwise, the abundance and height of C. senex cadavers were higher in drier plots. These results provide insights on how the spatial and temporal variation in air humidity may shape the occurrence and behavioral manipulation of ants infected by entomopathogenic fungi at larger scales.

寄生蚂蚁的真菌属蛇眼菌属（Ophiocordyceps）的某些物种已进化出某种程度的行为操纵方式，以增加自身的传播。被单侧蚜虫感染的木匠蚂蚁（Camponotus spp。）在死亡前爬上植被并咬住叶子或其他植物部位，而被其他蚜虫感染的其他蚂​​蚁则死于埋在叶子凋谢物之中或之上，并附着在茎和树干上。宿主死亡位置的微环境对于真菌发育和向新宿主的扩散至关重要，这是扩展表型的一个有趣例子。这项研究调查了湿度变化对空间（15 km ²）和时间（14个月）在亚马逊河中部地区出现并表达了延长的麦冬蛇蝎表型寄生性蚂蚁。我们发现O. unilateralis sl，O. kniphofioides sl和O. australis sl寄生了30种蚂蚁，但O. unilateralis sl。是迄今为止最丰富的真菌。寄生的Camponotus atriceps和C. bispinosus更为丰富，在空气湿度较高的时期死亡于较高的地方。否则，C。senex的丰度和高度尸体在较干燥的地块中较高。这些结果提供了关于空气湿度的时空变化如何在更大程度上影响被昆虫病原性真菌感染的蚂蚁的发生和行为操纵的见解。