Ants, scales, and phorid fly? - Apocephalus frameatus Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area, Palm Beach County, Florida, USA November 18, 2006
I came across these ants on a saw palmetto with what I believe to be scale insects. I don't know much about the relationship between the ants and the scales. I saw a very interesting documentary recently about the phorid flies that were introduced into Texas to fight against the fire ants. Now notice the small fly in the top right of the picture. This is one of the phorid flies which may be in the genus Apocephalus, which I read are the ones that are parasites of ants. This image was taken before the fly took flight. After I disturbed the ants by moving the palm frond, the fly seemed to take its cue.
Images of this individual: tag all Contributed by Don Cadle on 19 November, 2006 - 9:27pm Last updated 27 January, 2015 - 1:08pm |