The Sigourney Weaver starrer "Alien" gave a whole new meaning to the expression 'get it off you chest'. Now scientists in Florida are using the alien's larva-inside-the-body technique in fighting the South American Fire Ants.

The role of the alien is played by Phorid flies, which are smaller than fleas. The Phorid fly inserts one egg at a time into a fire ant's body using a stinger on its tail. Once the egg hatches, the larva feeds on the ant's internal fluids and organs.

While the cinematic alien baby made its grand entrance by ripping though the actor's rib cage, the phorid fly does it way better. The maggot migrates to the ant's head. The head then falls off because of an enzyme released by the larva. Hence the fly's common name: ant-decapitating fly.

The larva then undergoes metamorphosis inside the ant's head. Once the transformation is complete, the phorid fly crawls out of the ant's mouth! Life is stranger than any Hollywood feature film.

By releasing phorid flies in Florida, researchers say they could help reduce the fire ant population in the US. Phorid flies, also from South America, are the fire ant's natural enemies and studies have shown that they attack no other species of ants or animals.

The fire ants started their U.S. invasion 70 years ago when they were accidentally introduced in the 1930s. Because they have no natural enemies, they quickly spread to 12 states covering a total of 320 million acres.

The ant's sting causes a burning sensation and a white pustule which takes about two weeks to heal. The stings are also fatal to people allergic to bee and wasp stings. Fire ants are also known to kill livestock, ground-nesting birds, and hatching sea turtle.