#zombie fly

[sciencefriday]

Meet the Zombie Fly, the real-life version of the "chestburster" monster from the movie "Alien."

[squidtastik-blog]

I WAS TURNING OFF THE LIGHTS AND I SAW A FLY ON ITS BACK AND I THOUGHT IT WAS DEAD SO I BLEW ON IT AND IT TURNED OVER AND FLEW IN MY FACE

[ashleybravin]

Apis mellifera (Honey Bee), ink on illustration board, 2.5"x3.5"

A few weeks ago, I was able to drop into the office of John Hafernik, Interim Director of the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies and President of the California Academy of Sciences' office to share a bumblebee specimen that appeared to be parasitized by the Zombie Fly (Apocephalus borealis).  John was kind enough to invite me over to the center and share some of the research he has been doing (as well as confirm my suspicions). He runs a fascinating study on the subject, and is spearheading ZomBee Watch, a site tracking the honey bee parasite (which appears to not only be affecting honey bees, but also bumblebees and yellow jackets). He encourages people across the country to send in specimens of bees exhibiting unnatural nocturnal behavior, and you can find more information (as well as submit info on specimens you may find) here: https://www.zombeewatch.org/ Website / Prints

[shesstillastrongprincess-blog]

I have a zombie fly in my room! 0__0 how cool is that *o*

[nerdtalkradio]

This Week In Science!!!

By Devon “The Man of your dreams” James 

This is the Zombie Fly, and its nature is just as terrifying as it sounds. You see, its mating style is not unlike the Xenomorph from  Aliens. It latches onto a host, a honey bee, and lays its eggs without the Bee being any the wiser. Things go smoothly until one night, the Bee leaves the hive and flies off aimlessly. Once it is good and lost, the Bee rolls over and dies, and not long after, as many as 13 fly larvae emerge from the bee's husk, often times decapitating the Bee. Scientists who have observed the behavior of the infected bees say that they wander around, often times in circles, like zombies. 

Now, this isn't terrifying because this is causing destruction to bee colonies, as well as the fact that this may be a possible explanation as to why so many honey bees are disappearing, or even that without bees, crops will fail by not being pollinated, but because we are obviously next. That might be crazy, but if you ever wake up late at night  and wander away from your home aimlessly, try to hold your breath. Maybe if you pass out, you won't witness giving birth to monsters. 

Than again, maybe we can breed the Zombie fly to kill off these Hornets in Japan that are killing off weaker Hornets. Enemy of my Enemy, right? 

Well, either way, don't say I didn't learn ya somethin'!

[rats809]

HOLY SHIT ZOMBIE FLY

a fly was buzzing around

so i put my hand out palm up and left it for a bit

the fly landed in my hand closed my hand fast enough that it didn't get away

opened my hand

it looked crushed and wasn't moving

think "VICTORYYYY!" and grab phone to take a picture

RIGHT AS I'M ABOUT TO TAKE THE PICTURE

IT FLIES AWAY

AND I FLIP MY SHIT, CHANGE TO RECORD VIDEO, AND RECORD THE VIDEO THAT I'LL POST as soon as my phone sends it to my email

it's pretty much just me saying all this and then trying to find the fly again it's only like 50 seconds long

[cambrian-prime-blog]

Straight from one of the scientists who founded the release of the connection between A. Borealis and Honey Bees. This blog, which I urge anyone to follow if interested in future developments of A. Borealis' role in the reducing numbers of Honey Bees in the U.S, seems to shed a much needed light on the now notoriously suspected, zombie fly.