The World's Tiniest Fly
by Krystnell A. Storr 胡德良 译
| With a knack for decapitation, Phoridae are the mobsters of the ant world. This family of flies deposits its eggs in an ant's body, and when the eggs become larvae they feed on the ant's head, eventually causing it to fall off (inset). Now, researchers have tracked down a member of Phoridae so wee it would be dwarfed by a fleck of pepper. At just 0.4 mm, Euryplatea nanaknihali (main picture) is the tiniest fly ever reported—15 times smaller than a house fly and five times smaller than a fruit fly. It's also, despite its stature, equally as capable of removing the head of very tiny ants, the team reports online today in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America. So try to stay on its good side. | 蚤蝇（Phoridae）拥有斩杀蚂蚁头颅的本领，是蚂蚁世界的罪魁祸首。这种蝇科昆虫将卵产在蚂蚁体内，当卵变成幼虫之后，它们以蚂蚁的脑袋为食，最终会使蚂蚁的头颅落地（见图中插图）。目前，研究人员跟踪研究了一只蚤蝇，它很小很小，还不如一粒胡椒粉大。这种蚤蝇（Euryplatea nanaknihali）体长仅仅为0.4mm，是迄今报道过的最微小的苍蝇（见主图），比家蝇小15倍，比果蝇小5倍。今天，研究人员在《美国昆虫学会纪事》在线版上报道：尽管这种蚤蝇身材矮小，但它同样能够斩掉微型蚂蚁的脑袋。因此，还是尽量看它强大的一面吧！ |
