The red fire ants that have spread across the American South are pesky both for their painful stings and their attraction to electrical equipment; in Texas, they commonly short out the traffic lights by crawling into circuit boxes and chewing or even stinging electrical components. Researchers have experimented with insecticides and ant contraceptives to fight back, but another strategy has garnered more attention recently: importing parasitic phorid flies from South America that typically attack the ants.

The parasite's method is diabolical: A fly dive-bombs an ant and quickly inserts an egg in the ant's thorax. When the larva hatches it burrows into the ant's brain and eats it from the inside, causing the zombie ant to wander aimlessly for the two-week duration of the feast. Finally the larva excretes an enzyme that decapitates the ant.

Status: Bring on the Zombies!