What are the possible negative effects of phorid flies introduced to control imported fire ants? What will they eat after they kill off all the fire ants?
Phorid flies of the genus Pseudacteon permitted for release have been through careful screening to identify those species most specific to the imported pest fire ant. Prior to the decision to release target-specific phorids, USDA APHIS produced an Environmental Assessment (EA) http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~gilbert/research/fireants/envassess.html. This document contains a review of the biological qualities in fire ant-attacking phorids and assesses the potential benefits vs costs of releasing these exotic insects in North America. Aside from a small amount of nectar-feeding by adults, Pseudacteon flies are completely dependent on ants. Indeed, most species of flies under consideration for release as biocontrol agents of the RIFA are restricted to a single species or species group of fire ants. For example, native phorid species attack our native fire ants, S. geminata and S. xyloni. The fact that in over seven decades, no switch by native phorids to the invading S. invicta has occurred is
