alexwild > An Ant-Decapitating Fly (Phoridae, Pseudacteon sp.) attempts to separate a fire ant (Solenopsis macdonaghi) from her nestmates. Lone ants make easier targets.  

Parque Nacional El Palmar, Entre Rios, Argentina
alexwild > An ant-mugging fly (Milichia patrizii) chases down Crematogaster ants on a South African tree branch.  If the fly can catch an ant, she will force the ant to feed her.

filename: milichiid4
alexwild > Solenopsis macdonaghi fire ants attacked by a Pseudacteon ant-decapitating fly.  

Parque Nacional El Palmar, Entre Rios, Argentina
alexwild > Milichia patrizii, the ant-mugging fly, is a kleptoparasite of Crematogaster ants.

St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa
alexwild > An ant-mugging fly (Milichia patrizii) chases down Crematogaster ants on a South African tree branch.  If the fly can catch an ant, she will force the ant to feed her.

St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa
alexwild > An ant-mugging fly (Milichia patrizii) forces a Crematogaster ant to give up her food stores.  South Africa.

St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa
alexwild > One of the defenses fire ants (Solenopsis sp.) employ against parasitic phorid flies (Pseudacteon sp.) is to hide.   It is thought that the effectiveness of the flies in controlling pest fire ant populations is due more to disruption of the ants' normal foraging behavior than to the parasitism itself.

Parque Nacional El Palmar, Entre Rios, Argentina
alexwild > An Ant-Decapitating Fly (Phoridae, Pseudacteon sp.) attempts to oviposit on a fire ant (Solenopsis macdonaghi).

Parque Nacional El Palmar, Entre Rios, Argentina
alexwild > An Ant-Decapitating Fly (Phoridae, Pseudacteon sp.) attempts to separate a fire ant (Solenopsis macdonaghi) from her nestmates. Lone ants make easier targets.  Argentina. 

filename: Pseudacteon1
An Ant-Decapitating Fly (Phoridae, Pseudacteon sp.) attempts to separate a fire ant (Solenopsis macdonaghi) from her nestmates. Lone ants make easier targets.

Parque Nacional El Palmar, Entre Rios, Argentina
alexwild > An Ant-Decapitating Fly (Phoridae, Pseudacteon sp.) attempts to separate a fire ant (Solenopsis macdonaghi) from her nestmates. Lone ants make easier targets.  

Parque Nacional El Palmar, Entre Rios, Argentina
An Ant-Decapitating Fly (Phoridae, Pseudacteon sp.) attempts to separate a fire ant (Solenopsis macdonaghi) from her nestmates. Lone ants make easier targets.

Parque Nacional El Palmar, Entre Rios, Argentina
See photo in original gallery.

Comments

|

New comment:

Name: Email: Link:


To foil spammers, enter this code: copy this text in this box: Code unreadable?

Add Comment Cancel

all images and text © Alex Wild 2010

insect pictures, insect images, insect photos, insect photography, ant images, bug pictures, bug photographs, insect identification, ant pictures