Researchers find maggots in Morocco using fake faces on their butts to infiltrate termite colonies

Blowfly larvae in the mountains of Morocco were found to evolve fake termite-like faces on their rear ends as a cunning disguise, allowing them to infiltrate termite colonies, according to a recent discovery.

Previously unknown to scientists, the larva was found to have fake faces on its butt as part of an extreme mimicry strategy that tricks harvester termites, scientifically known as Anacanthotermes ochraceus and found in arid regions of North Africa and the Middle East, into believing the fly larvae are members of their colony.

The disguise allows mountain fly maggots to blend in so well that, even though soldier termites usually kill intruders on sight, the maggots are able to live safely among them and gain full access to the termite mound’s food stores.

The study explained that the disguise is so convincing that the termites even seem to groom the guileful maggot, treating it like one of their own.

Researchers stumbled upon these two-faced larvae by chance, according to the same source, while searching for ants in the Anti-Atlas mountain range in southern Morocco.

When the team lifted a stone, they uncovered a termite mound containing three previously unknown fly larvae, said Roger Vila, a researcher at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) who led the study.

“It must be an extremely rare species because we have made three more expeditions in that area and, despite lifting hundreds of stones, we found only two more flies, together, in another termite mound,” said the researcher.

These maggots also managed to mimic the distinctive scent of their hosts, allowing them to blend in with the colony, where termites use their feelers to recognize each other and soldiers attack intruders.

Researchers mentioned that the chemical composition of these larvae was found to be identical to that of the termites in their colony. Each colony has slight chemical differences that help the larvae blend in and benefit from the termites’ communal life, effectively creating a chemical disguise.