Data for: Expression of trematode-induced zombie-ant behavior is strongly associated with temperature

Parasite-induced modification of host behavior increasing transmission to
a next host is a common phenomenon. However, field-based studies are rare
and the role of environmental factors in eliciting host behavioral
modification is often not considered. We examined the effects of
temperature, relative humidity (RH), time of day, date, and an
irradiation-proxy on behavioral modification of the ant Formica
polyctena (Förster, 1850) by the brain-encysting lancet liver
fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum (Rudolphi, 1819). This fluke
induces ants to climb, and bite to vegetation by the mandibles in a state
of temporary tetany. A total of 1,264 individual ants expressing the
modified behavior were observed over 13 non-consecutive days during one
year in the Bidstrup Forests, Denmark. A sub-set of those ants (N=172) was
individually marked to track attachment and release of infected ants in
relation to variation in temperature.