Zombie Ants

Looks like researchers in Texas are more scared of some damage to electrical equipment than hordes of living dead insects! Scary!

Living Dead Ants

Stock up on food and water! Load your guns! Bust out the Raid! The end is coming!!!

From what I gather over the years it's generally not a good idea to move a species across the globe to combat a pesky critter. Though... at least you don't have to get a headshot to kill these zombie ants it just falls off!

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.

Wasn't it rats and snakes that invaded Hawaii? Imagine if they did this!

Dude........wait............what?.....how...if they got no.......doesn't it control....im confused. It walks around with no brain? How is that even possible?

I am reminded of a song,......There was an old lady who swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll die.

Next we will have to introduce a genetically mutated 40 foot bat to eat all the flies. Then the 40 foot bat will be a nucence we have to throw fire ants at to control.

Don't *snip* with mother nature.

Mod. Edit: Profanity circumvention...don't do it.

[edit on 5/13/2009 by seagull]

lol u gotta worry if the flies are layin eggs in ur hed lol imagion human wid no brain wandering around aimlessly......... i mean LOL

Originally posted by Estharik
From what I gather over the years it's generally not a good idea to move a species across the globe to combat a pesky critter. Though... at least you don't have to get a headshot to kill these zombie ants

it just falls off!

yeah it doesnt seem too smart to import an entire species when we dont really know what type of effect itll have on our native life.

I Googled "Zombie Ants". I found a video of them on You Tube.

Zombie Ants Video

There were alot of other sites that popped up, too. Alot of people are blogging about this.

This is called biotic pollution. It is the introduction of alien species into an ecosystem.

"In many regions, these new colonists are running wild, disrupting the dynamics of ecosystems, pushing native species towards extinction, and causing billions of dollars of direct damage to human enterprises." Quoted from "Alien Species in North America and Hawaii" by George W. Cox.

Alien Species in North America

In Northwest Montana they worry about this all the time with zebra mussels.

Flathead Lakers and zebra mussels

It's a shame that a government funded organization (Texas A&M) would encourage this sort of thing. Somebody's tax dollars went into this.

Sadly if you watch the video posted above, they've already released 4 species of the fly to try and control ant population....

umm is there a video of this?
it would be pretty cool it see the fly emerge from the ant's head.
I already saw ants(?) eat a lizard to the bone, why not his?

I agree! It would be cool. I will search and see if there is a video of the fly emerging from the ants head.

Seems the fire ants arent native to texas either.. Just the flies kept control of the populations in the South.

But now the researchers are trying a tiny phorid fly, native to a region of South America where the fire ants originated.

But you are all right, what if these flies find better subjects for their reproduction?

This isn't the first time that insects have been turned into zombies according to science.slashdot.org.

"Zombie insects might sound like a B-movie plot device (quicktime video) but to the emerald cockroach wasp (Ampulex compressa), they're a tried and tested way to provide food for their hungry larvae. The wasp relies on cockroaches for its grisly life cycle but unlike many venomous predators, which paralyze their victims before eating them, the wasp's sting leaves the cockroach able to walk, but unable to initiate its own movement. Researchers have discovered that the wasps sting the cockroaches once to subdue them, then administer another, more precise sting right into their victim's brain. The venom works to block a neurotransmitter called octopamine with a similar action to dopamine, which is involved in preparations to execute complex behaviors such as walking. Then the wasp grabs the cockroach's antenna and leads it back to the nest 'like a dog on a leash', says one researcher. The team found that they could restore spontaneous walking behavior in stung cockroaches by giving them a compound that reactivates octopamine receptors in the insects' central nervous system. Researchers were also able to create their own zombies by injecting unstung cockroaches with a compound that blocks the receptors producing a similar effect to that of the venom."

With two known incidents of scientists turning living creatures into zombies how long is it before they try it with people you might ask?

I couldn't find any video of the fly coming out of the ant's head but here's some cool pics including said fly coming out of said head:

National Geographic Zombie Ant Pics

I don't think this very new. I saw something similar on an episode of King of the Hill once. Hank had fire ants so he bought some flies that lay their eggs in fire ants' heads

The episode was called "King of the Ant Hill". These are some of my favorite quotes from it:

PEGGY: It's called Eco-Kill, Hank. The government would not let them use the term "eco" unless it was ecologically safe.

HANK: This is exactly what those environmentalists should be spending their time on: Finding ways to use nature against other forms of nature that are inconvenient to man.

This is the page that I found those on:

"King of the Ant Hill" Quotes

Funny show.

Parasitic mind control is freakin' crazAy son.

Not the strangest thing I've heard of. I read about a group of parasitic fungi that assume control over insects in order ta achieve the best spread of their spores. How 'bout that? ^^

I am kind of glad to hear this. Fire ants are a huge problem in Texas. Its almost impossible to sit down without getting covered up in ants. Its a weekly routine to search the yard for ant piles and lay down poison.

I have been bitten so many times that I have developed an immunity to the venom. Instead of a swollen sore that lasts for about a week, I now just get a minor bump that itches for a day or 2.

A few years ago, I was working at a semiconductor company. And there is a bar that opens at 7am in order to cater to night shift workers. At the end of the week there would be lots of people in there from different companies and us microchip employees would find each other and swap stories. I remember there were several people telling a story about how their test laboratory had to be closed down for a week because of an ant invasion. After killing the ants they had to clean out the equipment before if could be powered back on.

I hope this works and does not get out of control.

J.