Predators
Phorid flies, or Phoridae, are a family of small, hump-backed flies resembling fruit flies; two species in this family (Pseudacteon tricuspis and Pseudacteon curvatus) are parasitoids of the red imported fire ant in its native range in South America. Some 110 species of the genus Pseudacteon, or ant-decapitating flies, have been described. Members of Pseudacteon reproduce by laying eggs in the thorax of the ant. The first instar larvae migrates to the head, then develops by feeding on the hemolymph, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. After about two weeks, they cause the ant's head to fall off by releasing an enzyme that dissolves the membrane attaching the ant's head to its body. The fly pupates in the detached head capsule, emerging two weeks later.
Pseudacteon flies have been widely introduced throughout the southern United States, starting with Travis, Brazos, and Dallas counties in Texas, as well as Mobile, Alabama, where the ants first entered North America.
The Venus Flytrap, a carnivorous plant, is native to the North and South Carolina of the United States. The diet of the Venus Flytrap includes 33% ants, of any species. They lure their prey to their trap by using a sweet sap. Once the prey has fallen into the trap and touched three "hairs" (that look like teeth) within 30 seconds, the leaf closes around the prey and digests it.
Read more about this topic: Fire Ant