Evolution Diary

Evidence of evolutionary mutation

On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, crickets have mutated to become “silent” in order to prevent flesh eating maggots of an alien fly species from mainland. The flies follow the chirps of a calling cricket and then deposit maggots onto the cricket’s back. The maggots burrow into the cricket, and emerge, much fatter, a week later — killing the cricket in the process. Biologists Marlene Zuk, John Rotenberry, and Robin Tinghitella discovered this evolutionary mutation in just a few years’ time.

Parasite maggots eating a cricket from inside out.

Read the whole story