# Zombie fire ants!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-fire-ants/496312
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [May 13, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-fire-ants/496312 "2009-05-13T17:44:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-fire-ants/496312/21 "2009-05-14T13:06:11Z")
So, if zombie inducing flies switch from ants to Texans, how long before anyone notices?
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-fire-ants/496312/22 "2009-05-14T13:13:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> So, if zombie inducing flies switch from ants to Texans, how long before anyone notices?
When their heads start falling off.
Texans without ten-gallon hats will be conspicuous.
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### Author:  [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2009, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-fire-ants/496312/23 "2009-05-14T13:14:18Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#):
>
> What kind of damage do fire ants present to “electrical equipment” as stated in the article? I can see them practically devouring a calf or something, but…“electrical devices”? What are we talking about here? Chewing up power lines?
One of the major, major problems with fire ants is that they will nest inside telephone junction boxes, and they think the insulation on the wires is yummy beyond belief. They will also eat the insulation off of incoming power wires to houses, and that can start fires.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-fire-ants/496312/24 "2009-05-14T13:46:24Z")
Let’s see.
The flies eat the ants’ brains. Then they start eating Texan’s brains, which is noticed when Texans start forgetting to impose the death penalty in criminal trials.
Then they bring in cane toads to kill the flies, which ends up killing all the hound dogs who lick the toads.
Then they nuke it from orbit, because what good is Texas without hound dogs?
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### Author:  [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-fire-ants/496312/25 "2009-05-14T16:29:56Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#):
>
> From the linked article:
> “It’s not an immediate silver-bullet impact,” Plowes said.
>
> Um, silver bullets are for _werewolves_, not zombies.
>
> Actually, I think he’s kind of slick for the monster movie reference.
I hate to be the one to rain on your parade, but “silver bullet” is a stock idiomatic expression for "[something that acts as a magical weapon ; especially : one that instantly solves a long-standing problem."](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silver%20bullet) No monster-movie reference intended.
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### Author:  [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2009, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-fire-ants/496312/26 "2009-05-14T16:33:35Z")
> [@robardin](#):
>
> Aren’t there documented cases that should give careful pause to importing invasive species to fight other invasive species? I’m trying to think of the examples, but I definitely have in the back of my mind that I’ve read of times when X was brought in as a “natural enemy” of pest Y, which then does the job of all but eliminating Y but at the cost of then becoming as big or worse a problem than Y ever was.
The case is known as [Australia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_species_in_Australia)😛
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### Author:  [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)
#### Post date: [May 14, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zombie-fire-ants/496312/27 "2009-05-14T16:44:21Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#):
>
> [Researchers find parasitic flies that eat fire ants’ brains, turning them into zombies.](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/05/13/national/a062256D48.DTL&tsp=1)
>
> I welcome our new zombie fire ant overlords.
Somehow, it doesn’t surprise me that **Anne Neville** sides with the zombies.
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