Parasitic Flies Being Used To Turn Fire Ants Into Headless Zombies

Associated Press ^ | 10:05 AM EDT, May 13, 2009 | Associated Press

[MaryFromMichigan]

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 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.

[MaryFromMichigan]

Gotten bitten by these guys a few times.
Nasty things!

[RandallFlagg]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2250469/posts

[Man50D]

It must be the same affliction effecting the socialist left.

[stayathomemom]

Sounds like torture to me.

[aviator]

Them ain’t fire ants; they’s fahr aintz!

[IbJensen]

Parasitic Flies Being Used To Turn Fire Ants Into Headless Zombies.

This sounds rather like what the Obomba Communist administration and their sycophants are attempting to do to the rest of us who still have functioning brain cells.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

JUst wait until the parasitic flies mutate!

[theDentist]

One the fire ants are gone, where then shall the flies lay their eggs? What is the potential that these flies cause an ecological conundrum?

[MaryFromMichigan]

That was my first thought, too!

This thread may go bye-bye soon.
I ask the mod to pull it.
Did a search and didn’t see it was a duplicate.

[valkyry1]

Just hope the flies stay isolated on the fire ants, otherwise it could an ecological disaster.

[556x45]

Gee, when I saw the ‘headless zombies’ part I thought the dems had discovered a way to create another voting bloc.

[N. Theknow]

JUst wait until the parasitic flies mutate!

I'll just stick with my flame-thrower for now.

[aruanan]

Gotten bitten by these guys a few times.

Actually, they hold on with their mandibles and then sting with their stingers just like a wasp.

I know someone who wrecked his motorcycle and slid off the road into a fire ant nest. They swarmed up his legs and stung him what looked to be hundreds of times. He passed out from the shock. It was one of the grossest looking things I've ever seen. It looked like his legs were covered with hundreds of giant zits with big white heads.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

I worked for a guy once who wandered around without a brain giving orders to others, but his head never fell off...:(

[bgill]

Everything that’s been brought over or created to stop one problem has evolved into a bigger problem of it’s own.

[Condor51]

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.

Great idea.
That is, until they fly (no pun) into our ear canal, lay eggs and the maggots eat our brains.

Annnnnnd I think this has already happened. Just look at DU, Kos. Huffie Post and every Obama voter - mindless zombies, all of them.

[Holicheese]

Thats the way it starts. Then its, “Lets turn the homeless into zombie butlers!”
“Ya, what could go wrong with that!”

[Badabing Badablonde]

.....deploying parasitic flies that turn the pesky and economically costly insects into zombies whose heads fall off.

So that's how that happened to my ex-husband!

[MaryFromMichigan]

Gotta love the freeper sense of humor!
I love this place!

[GeorgiaDawg32]

i.e. Kudzu (The weed that ate the South)