More nature reading…

One of the most bizarre groups is the genus Apocephalus, whose species are commonly referred to as the ant-decapitating flies. Darting from above, an Apocephalus female lands on its ant victim, pierces it with a sharp, swordlike ovipositor, and lays a single egg inside the ant’s body. Depending on the species of fly, the egg is laid in the head, thorax, or abdomen of the host.

Once the egg hatches, the fly’s larva journeys through the internal tissues to the host’s head (if it is not already there) and begins feeding on the muscles and tissues that fill the head capsule. Eventually, the ant’s depleted head falls off, sometimes while the body is still living and walking about. In Costa Rica, we have found leaf-cutting ants still wandering along trails with their nestmates, in spite of the fact that there is nothing inside their heads except for a mature, fat phorid maggot.

That’s pretty messed up. Read full article here.