How do phorid flies kill fire ants?
A parasitic phorid fly attempts to lay an egg into a fire ant worker. When the fly injects an egg into the ant, the egg hatches and eventually develops into an adult fly within the ant, which kills the ant.
Do phorid flies eat fire ants?
longirostrata is the first phorid fly known to actively cut off an ant’s head before eating it. longirostrata were eating the ants’ brains to get the energy they needed to lay eggs. Other females laid eggs near their ant head trophies so that newly-hatched larvae could feed on them.
What fly family is used to control fire ants?
Phorid flies
Phorid flies and fire ants are native to South America, where the 23 different phorid fly species help to control the ants.
What do phorid flies eat?
Some foods that phorid flies eat includes:
- Moist organic material that gathers in drains or other plumbing.
- Decomposing flour on the floor and under equipment in bakeries and kitchens.
- Decomposing vegetables such as potatoes and onions.
- Fungi.
- Insects.
Can flies kill ants?
The fly, Pseudacteon tricuspis, was introduced to several locations in Texas beginning in 1999 with BFL in central Austin. The small traps capture fire ants first by luring them in with ants from a disturbed mound.
What eats fire ants in Texas?
Predators. Armadillos, antlions, spiders, birds, and horned lizards have been known to eat fire ants when given the opportunity, but are not known to have a major impact on imported fire ant populations.
Do ants eat flies?
Protein foods Besides of sugary foods, ants also eat protein to grow. When ants stay outside where they belong, many of us seeing a colony of ants eating and picking up dead insects like cockroaches and flies.
What is the natural enemy of fire ants?
Because there are no natural fire ant predators in North America, scientists are exploring the possibility of introducing a species of phorid fly to control fire ant colonies. This South American parasite, a member of the genus Apocephalus, is also known as the ant-decapitator fly.
What are ants worst enemy?
One of the biggest enemies of ants is other ants. Different ant species and colonies are always in competition with one another. There are even parasitic ants like the Solenopsis daguerrei. The queens of this species invade the colonies of other ants.
What do phorid flies hate?
Furthermore, it is mainly seen around organic matter that has decayed, especially dead animal bodies like rodents. Their love for decaying organic matter is the reason why it can be found in hospitals invading wounds and earned the nickname “coffin fly”. Unlike fruit flies, phorid flies are not attracted to vinegar.
Can a phorid fly attack a fire ant?
The phorid flies — reared and released in a cooperative project with the U.S. Department of Agriculture — are specific to the red imported fire ant and are not known to attack anything else, insect or otherwise. Therefore, the chance of the population mushrooming out of control is small, Barr said.
What kind of flies parasitize fire ants?
Phorid flies in the genus Pseudacteon parasitize several genera of ants including fire ants in the genus Solenopsis (Disney 1994), which includes the invasive red ( Solenopsis invicta Buren) and black imported fire ants ( Solenopsis richteri Forel).
What’s the life span of a phorid fly?
The phorid flies used in the project are a natural enemy of the red imported fire ant, Barr said. The life span of adult flies is only two or three days.
Are there any third species of phorid flies?
A third species ( P. litoralis ), which attacks large fire ants is established and expanding in Alabama while a fourth species ( P. obtusus) has been established at multiple sites in Texas and Florida.