Do the world's smallest flies decapitate tiny ants?

The smallest fly ever discovered is just 0.40 millimeters in length, and is a member of a fly family that is known for 'decapitating' ants

2012-07-03

(Press-News.org) A new species of phorid fly from Thailand is the smallest fly ever discovered. At just 0.40 millimeters in length, it is 15 times smaller than a house fly and five times smaller than a fruit fly.

The tiny fly, Euryplatea nanaknihali, is also the first of its genus to be discovered in Asia, and it belongs to a fly family (Phoridae) that is known for "decapitating" ants.

Some species in the Phoridae fly family lay eggs in the bodies of ants, and the resulting larvae feed in the ants' heads, eventually causing decapitation. In fact, some of these phorid flies are being used to try to control fire ants in the southern United Sates.

The new fly species is described in the July issue of Annals of the Entomological Society of America in an article called "Small Size No Protection for Acrobat Ants: World's Smallest Fly Is a Parasitic Phorid (Diptera: Phoridae)" (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/AN12011).

According to the author, Dr. Brian Brown of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, these flies can probably decapitate some of the smallest ants in the world, ones with heads as small as 0.5 millimeters. Although this has not yet been observed, it is highly likely because the fly's only known relative, Euryplatea eidmanni, is known to parasitize ants in Equatorial Guinea.

"It had always been assumed that smaller species of ants would be free from attack because it would be physically impossible for flies that are 1-3 millimeters in length to develop in their relatively tiny heads," he said. "However, here we show that even the smallest host ants in a host-parasitoid system cannot escape parasitism."

INFORMATION:

Members of the media who would like advanced copies of the article should write to pubs@entsoc.org, or call 301-731-4535, ext. 3009.

Annals of the Entomological Society of America is published by the Entomological Society of America, the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. Founded in 1889, ESA today has more than 6,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. For more information, visit http://www.entsoc.org.

CONTACT:

Dr. Brian Brown
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Phone: 213-763-3363
Email: melaloncha@gmail.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study: Botulinum toxin a shot in the arm for preventing MS tremor

2012-07-03

MINNEAPOLIS – Botulinum toxin may help prevent shaking or tremor in the arms and hands of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new research published in the July 3, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Treatments in use for tremor in MS are not sufficiently effective and new alternatives are needed," said study author Anneke van der Walt, MD, consultant neurologist at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and research fellow with the University of Melbourne in Australia. For the study 23 people with MS were ...

Physical activity needed in order to reap benefits of dietary restriction

2012-07-03

Fruit flies on dietary restriction (DR) need to be physically active in order to get the lifespan extending benefits that come from their Spartan diet. If the same axiom holds true in humans, those practicing caloric restriction in hopes of living longer need to make sure they eat enough to avoid fatigue. According to research at the Buck Institute, flies on DR shift their metabolism toward increasing fatty acid synthesis and breakdown, specifically in muscle tissue. "Dietary restriction is known to enhance spontaneous movement in a variety of species including primates, ...

Multiple proxy datasets can clarify ancient climate regimes

2012-07-03

Tree ring and oxygen isotope data from the U.S. Pacific Northwest do not provide the same information on past precipitation, but rather than causing a problem, the differing results are a good thing, according to a team of geologists. The researchers are trying to understand the larger spatial patterns and timing of drought in the arid and semiarid areas of the American West. "We generally understand that the Medieval Climate Anomaly, a warm period in much of the northern hemisphere that occurred about 950 to 1250 was a dry period in the American West," said Byron ...

Gene variant reduces cholesterol by 2 mechanisms

2012-07-03

High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol increases the risk for coronary heart disease. A variant in the human gene encoding the protein sortilin is associated with reduced plasma LDL levels and a decreased risk of heart attack. This variant results in markedly higher sortilin protein expression in liver. Dr. Daniel Rader and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia have uncovered a two-pronged mechanism for the change in LDL observed. Using a mouse model system, the Rader team found that increased liver sortilin is responsible for reducing ...

JCI early table of contents for July 2, 2012

2012-07-03

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE Gene variant reduces cholesterol by two mechanisms High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol increases the risk for coronary heart disease. A variant in the human gene encoding the protein sortilin is associated with reduced plasma LDL levels and a decreased risk of heart attack. This variant results in markedly higher sortilin protein expression in liver. Dr. Daniel Rader and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia have uncovered a two-pronged mechanism for the change in LDL observed. Using a mouse model system, ...

Generating dopamine via cell therapy for Parkinson's disease

2012-07-03

In Parkinson's disease, the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the midbrain causes well-characterized motor symptoms. Though embryonic stem cells could potentially be used to replace dopaminergic (DA) neurons in Parkinson's disease patients, such cell therapy options must still overcome technical obstacles before the approach is ready for the clinic. Embryonic stem cell-based transplantation regimens carry a risk of introducing inappropriate cells or even cancer-prone cells. To develop cell purification strategies to minimize these risks, Dr. Lorenza Studer and colleagues ...

Exploring one of climate's 'known unknowns'

2012-07-03

The influence of aerosols (small particles less than 1 micrometre in diameter) and clouds (liquid droplets 1 – 1000 micrometres diameter) represents one of the largest uncertainties in our understanding of trends in past global climate and predicting future climate change, as recognised by the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. One of the most significant 'known unknowns' is how quickly water can condense on the small aerosol particles to grow and become cloud droplets, influencing the albedo (reflectivity) of clouds and cloud lifetime (precipitation). ...

Uncontrollable anger prevalent among US youth

2012-07-03

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adolescents have experienced an anger attack that involved threatening violence, destroying property or engaging in violence toward others at some point in their lives. These severe attacks of uncontrollable anger are much more common among adolescents than previously recognized, a new study led by researchers from Harvard Medical School finds. The study, based on the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement, a national face-to-face household survey of 10,148 U.S. adolescents, found that nearly two-thirds of adolescents in ...

Study suggests teen sexting prevalent, may be linked to sexual behaviors

2012-07-03

CHICAGO – A study of students at seven public high schools in Texas suggests that "sexting" was prevalent and may be linked to teens' sexual behaviors, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. Sexting (a combination of the words sex and texting) is the practice of electronically sending sexually explicit images or messages from one person to another. The study background suggests pediatricians, policy makers, schools and parents have insufficient information about the nature and importance ...

Study suggests antipsychotic drugs during pregnancy linked to increased risk of gestational diabetes

2012-07-03

CHICAGO – A study that examined maternal use of antipsychotic drugs during pregnancy suggests that these medications may be linked to an increased risk of gestational diabetes, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication. Severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are usually treated with continuous antipsychotic drugs, "however, the evidence concerning use of antipsychotics during pregnancy is generally lacking or weak," the authors write in the study background. Robert Bodén. M.D., ...