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Debbie Hadley

Friday Fact - Ant-Decapitating Flies

By , About.com GuideFebruary 24, 2012

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Some phorid flies are well known for the gruesome way they parasitize ants. The phorid fly female deposits an egg in the body of a host ant. The maggot then feeds on the ant's insides, saving the contents of the head for last. The maggot will pupate inside the ant's head capsule, but not before releasing an enzyme that dissolves the tissue connecting the head and the thorax. Quite literally, the ant's head pops off.

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