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Phorid flies may represent a hopeful means of controlling fire ant populations in the southern United States, where some species of fire ants were accidentally introduced in the 1930s. The genus Pseudacteon, or ant-decapitating flies, of which 110 species have been documented, is a parasitoid of ants.
Pseudacteon tricuspis (commonly referred to as a phorid fly or fire ant decapitating fly) is a parasitoid phorid fly that decapitates its host, the imported Solenopsis invicta fire ant. [1] There are over 70 described species within the Pseudacteon genus, which parasitize a variety of ant species.
After about two weeks, the ant worker is termed a "zombie" because the fly larva has effectively taken control. The worker leaves the nest and dies in the leaf litter or in a crack in the soil. As it dies, the ant's head falls off, apparently because the fly larva releases an enzyme that dissolves the membrane attaching the ant's head to its body.
Borgmeier was ordained priest in 1918, and while at Petropolis, he saw phorid flies parasitizing ants. Discussing this with Jesuit priest and entomologist Hermann Schmitz led him to publish the first paper on the biology of Odontomachus affinis in 1920 [1] and describe a new species of phorid Dohrniphora brasiliensis. In 1922 Dr Arthur Neiva ...
Venus flytrap A species of Drosera with its sticky leaves that trap many ants Pseudacteon curvatus, phorid fly parasitoid of fire ants. Phorid flies, or Phoridae, are a large family of small, hump-backed flies somewhat smaller than vinegar flies; two species in this family (Pseudacteon tricuspis and Pseudacteon curvatus) are parasitoids of the ...
This article related to members of the muscomorph fly section Aschiza is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Apocephalus paraponerae is a species of fly in the family Phoridae discovered by Borgmeier in 1958. This species is a parasitoid of the giant tropical ant Paraponera clavata (commonly known as the bullet ant) and uses both visual and chemical cues to locate its host.
Puliciphora anceps Schmitz, 1915 [1]; Puliciphora beaveri Disney, 1988 [2]; Puliciphora beckeri Meijere, 1907 [3]; Puliciphora boltoni Disney, 1988 [2]; Puliciphora borinquenensis Wheeler, 1906 [4]