Will phorid flies eradicate red imported fire ants?
No. In South America, where all 20 or so species of phorid flies that attack and parasitize red imported fire ants, at a maximum only 3% or less of the worker ants in a colony are parasitized – and good sized colonies contain roughly 200,000 ants! So, the likelihood that even one ant colony will be eliminated by the parasitic flies is unrealistic. Instead, the fly’s ability to suppress foraging workers’ surface activity during daylight hours will hopefully allow competing native ant species to get out to forage for food and, establish and grow their colonies, so they can better compete with the fire ant. In short, these natural enemies have the potential to restore the balance of nature back towards our native and competitor ant species. That said, this effort would be unsuccessful if native ants are eliminated. Sustainable suppression potentially provided by these flies will benefit wildlife and agricultural areas where use of insecticide treatments will not be desirable, justified or
