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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Aschiza" » Platypezoidea » Scuttle Flies (Phoridae) » Metopininae » Ant-decapitating Flies (Apocephalus) » pergandei group (Apocephalus pergandei group) » Apocephalus coquilletti
Photo#292375
phorid hovers above Camponotus pennsylvanicus at bait - Apocephalus coquilletti - female
Copyright © 2009 James C. Trager

phorid hovers above Camponotus pennsylvanicus at bait - Apocephalus coquilletti - Female
Gray Summit, Franklin County, Missouri, USA
June 19, 2009
Size: 2mm +
This little fly was hovering over carpenter ants that gathered at bait. On one occasion it dove down and apparently injected an egg into the "neck" of an ant, causing the ant to writhe for a moment before recovering its composure and going back to the bait.

See for a (sort of) related post.
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Contributed by James C. Trager on 22 June, 2009 - 6:02pm
Last updated 25 January, 2019 - 3:24pm

Moved
Moved from Scuttle Flies.
… john and jane balaban, 19 August, 2009 - 1:51pm login or register to post comments

fly id
James- Apocephalus coquilletti

Brian
… Brian V. Brown, 19 August, 2009 - 1:49pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks, Brian
According to a revision of the species group to which this fly belongs, sent to me by Dr. Brown, this species is a specialist on two closely related carpenter ants of eastern North America, Camponotus pennsylvanicus, C. chromaiodes.
… James C. Trager, 20 August, 2009 - 11:01am login or register to post comments

This is an excellent shot! We
This is an excellent shot! Well done.
… zeroflex, 25 June, 2009 - 4:07am login or register to post comments

 
Wow
Very nice!
… Jonathan Burishkin, 30 July, 2009 - 11:18am login or register to post comments

 
The trick was
I shot this in fairly low light, in full shade, with a fast flash that froze the wing motion. The fly hovered a lot, making focusing relatively easy.
… James C. Trager, 7 September, 2009 - 12:06pm login or register to post comments

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