Pseudacteon Flies Decapitate Ants
This is a news story, published by Live Science, that relates primarily to Parasitoid news.
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'Once the ant turned its back on the colony and walked away, it was on a death march. And the parasite was in the driver's seat'
71% Informative
The decapitating fly Pseudacteon wasmanni lays an egg inside an ant's thorax in less than a second .
Once the egg hatches, the ant has only a few weeks of life before it succumbs to the manipulations of its attacker.
Little is known about how the parasitoid avoids being destroyed by the ant's immune system.
Parasitoid insects keep their zombie host alive until the larva's metamorphosis is over, but phorids pupate unguarded inside their dead hosts' heads.
The exoskeleton of an ant's head is extremely hard — tougher than other parts of its body — lends extra protection to the pupating larva.
A few hours after emerging, the adult phorid fly is ready to mate and continue its reproductive cycle.
VR Score
81
Informative language
85
Neutral language
50
Article tone
semi-formal
Language
English
Language complexity
53
Offensive language
possibly offensive
Hate speech
possibly hateful
Attention-grabbing headline
not detected
Known propaganda techniques
not detected
Time-value
long-living
External references
4
Source diversity
3
Affiliate links
2