Euryplatea nanaknihali
| Euryplatea nanaknihali | |
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| Species: | E. nanaknihali
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| Euryplatea nanaknihali Brown, 2012
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At just 0.4 mm in size, Euryplatea nanaknihali is the world's smallest fly (Diptera)[1].
The insect is smaller than a grain of rice. Due to its small size, the viscosity of air is problematic for the insect, and even the smallest air currents are a large problem. Scientists were amazed that such a tiny animal could still have all the organs of a normal insect, and such a tiny insect was previously believed impossible.[2]
They lay their eggs in the body of ants where the larva devours the body of the ant where they mature before emerging as adults.[3] They feed first off the large muscles that control the ant's jaws and later feed on the brain, causing the ant to wander aimlessly for two weeks.[2] Prior to this discovery, it was believed that ants could not be affected by parasitic insects, since insects are too large to infect ants.[2]
The species was found in a number of national parks in Thailand. Its species name is named after a 13-year-old child, Nanak Nihal Weiss, who is interested in insects and frequently visits the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County with his father.
References
- ^ Brown, B.V. 2012: Small size no protection for acrobat ants: world's smallest fly is a parasitic phorid (Diptera: Phoridae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 105(4): 550-554. doi:10.1603/AN12011
- ^ a b c Chelsea Whyte (July 2, 2012). "World's Smallest Fly Decapitates Ants and Lives in Their Severed Heads". International Science Times. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ http://scienceblogs.com/lifelines/2012/07/03/worlds-smallest-fly-discovered-in-thailand/
