ThruX May 15, 2009 Share ThruX Member May 15, 2009 (edited) Zombie Fire Ants... May. 13, 2009 06:42 AM Associated Press FORT WORTH, Texas - Researchers in Texas are trying an unusual approach to combat fire ants - deploying parasitic flies that turn the pesky and economically costly insects into zombies whose heads fall off. The biting, territorial fire ants cost the Texas economy about $1 billion annually by damaging electrical equipment, according to a Texas A&M study. They can also threaten young calves. But now the researchers are trying a tiny phorid fly, native to a region of South America where the fire ants originated. Researchers have learned that fire ants in their home region are kept under control by as many as 23 phorid species. The flies lay eggs on the fire ants, and the eggs hatch into maggots inside the ant and eat away at the pest's tiny brain. The ant will get up and wander for about two weeks while the maggot feeds, said Rob Plowes, a research associate at the University of Texas at Austin. "There is no brain left in the ant, and the ant just starts wandering aimlessly," he said. About a month after the egg is laid, the ant's head falls off - and a new fly emerges ready to attack another fire ant. "They're not going to completely wipe out the fire ant, but it's a way to control their population," said Scott Ludwig, an integrated pest management specialist with Texas A&M's AgriLife Extension Service in Overton, in East Texas. Four phorid species have been introduced in the state since 1999. They don't attack native ants or other species and have been introduced in other Gulf Coast states, Plowes told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. But it will take time to determine if the flies are effective in Texas, perhaps as long as a decade. "It's not an immediate silver-bullet impact," Plowes said. Edited May 15, 2009 by ThruX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laz.e.rus May 15, 2009 Share Laz.e.rus Member May 15, 2009 Zombie Fire Ants... "It's not an immediate silver-bullet impact," Plowes said. Heh Heh heh heh he said "Silver bullet" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfly May 15, 2009 Share dragonfly Member May 15, 2009 Oh man. They need to stop introducing new species of everything in NA. Next they'll need something to get rid of the flies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFirstMonk May 15, 2009 Share TheFirstMonk Member May 15, 2009 Oh man. They need to stop introducing new species of everything in NA. Next they'll need something to get rid of the flies... Reminds me of that one Simpsons episode: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_the_Mother "Bart and Marge take the lizards to the Springfield Birdwatching Society. Principal Skinner, a member of the society, explains that they are Bolivian tree lizards, a type of lizard that steals a bird’s eggs and leaves their own eggs to be watched after by the mother bird. Skinner says the lizards must be killed by law, because they have killed many bird species. Bart escapes and runs away with the lizards, but before he can get away, Skinner catches up to him and they both struggle on top of the building. Suddenly, the lizards glide to the ground, where they start to decimate pigeons in Springfield. Since the town considered the pigeons to be a nuisance, they are delighted with the fact that the lizards have eaten all the pigeons. As a result, Bart is thanked and honored by Mayor Quimby with a loganberry scented candle. Lisa worries that the town will now become infested by lizards rather than the pigeons, but Skinner assures her that they will send in Chinese snakes, then gorillas, and then "winter will take care of the rest." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroDamage May 15, 2009 Share ZeroDamage Member May 15, 2009 Some pictures of the flies and etc here. http://io9.com/5252549/headless-fire-ant-z...re-your-friends I love this one of the fly popping out of the detached head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymo May 15, 2009 Share anonymo Member May 15, 2009 Holy crap those flies are huge! I was picturing tiny little flies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbilDustBunny May 15, 2009 Share EbilDustBunny GC Alumni May 15, 2009 Ewww... I agree with dragonfly. Hasn't history taught us anything about introducing non native species of anything.... even movies show how badly that it plays out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymo May 15, 2009 Share anonymo Member May 15, 2009 Ewww... I agree with dragonfly. Hasn't history taught us anything about introducing non native species of anything.... even movies show how badly that it plays out. I will point out that most of us didn't originate on this continent either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laz.e.rus May 15, 2009 Share Laz.e.rus Member May 15, 2009 Ewww... I agree with dragonfly. Hasn't history taught us anything about introducing non native species of anything.... even movies show how badly that it plays out. I will point out that most of us didn't originate on this continent either... Yeah! And look how well THAT turned out environmentally! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfly May 15, 2009 Share dragonfly Member May 15, 2009 Ewww... I agree with dragonfly. Hasn't history taught us anything about introducing non native species of anything.... even movies show how badly that it plays out. I will point out that most of us didn't originate on this continent either... lol I did. Just not my great grandparents. I'm still 100% Canadian which means I'm simply 100% not American... though, my mom's American... I'm 100% unsure of myself. For real though. They introduced those worms that are EVERYWHERE every 5 years or so, eating ALL of the poplar leaves, then they introduced a fly to kill the worms, now there are flies EVERYWHERE in the summer. So it just cycles from flies to worms, and back again over periods of 5 years or so. Next they'll introduce a bird I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaftiel May 15, 2009 Share shaftiel Member May 15, 2009 Ewww... I agree with dragonfly. Hasn't history taught us anything about introducing non native species of anything.... even movies show how badly that it plays out. I will point out that most of us didn't originate on this continent either... Yeah! And look how well THAT turned out environmentally! Oh please! Those Indians were just letting the animals and plants run rampant over the continent! Something had to be done to quell the chaos. Luckily, the Europeans came to the rescue and showed the Indians the joys of wholesale slaughter and pillaging. Ask yourself, when was the last time your home was over run by a herd of Bison? Exactly, if we hadn't taken over the land management they would still be rampaging all over the continent! When was the last time you had to hike 150 miles through bear and wolf infested virgin forests just to get to the next village? Exactly, we came along and removed the pesky forest all together. Problem solved! We are helping nature by removing all the things that clutter it up. Now without all those plants and animals in the way Nature has room to breath. We are doing good. Remember that. Shaftiel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThruX May 15, 2009 Author Share ThruX Member May 15, 2009 (edited) Well said Shaft. What happens when technology starts to become a larger force than nature itself? Can you say ubiquitous computing? Edited May 15, 2009 by ThruX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfly May 16, 2009 Share dragonfly Member May 16, 2009 Can you say ubiquitous computing? Actually, no, I can't. Thanks for asking though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbilDustBunny May 16, 2009 Share EbilDustBunny GC Alumni May 16, 2009 Ewww... I agree with dragonfly. Hasn't history taught us anything about introducing non native species of anything.... even movies show how badly that it plays out. I will point out that most of us didn't originate on this continent either... Yeah! And look how well THAT turned out environmentally! And we did that alll by ourselves Mo came from Mars the martians stuck him here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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