{"product_id":"mydas-fly-gauromydas-heros","title":"Mydas Fly (Gauromydas heros)","description":"\u003cp\u003eGauromydas heros is, quite simply, the largest fly in the world. Found in the forests and cerrado of South America - particularly Brazil - this member of the family Mydidae can reach body lengths of over 60mm with a wingspan to match, a scale that makes it genuinely startling to encounter in the field.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGauromydas heros is a member of the family Mydidae, a group of large, often wasp-mimicking flies found in warm regions worldwide. Despite its formidable size and dark, heavy-set body with a distinctive orange band on the abdomen, it is entirely harmless to humans - it has no sting, and adults are thought to feed on nectar or possibly not at all during their brief adult lives. Their larvae develop in the nests of leaf-cutter ants (Atta species), where they are believed to be predators of the ant brood - a bold living arrangement given the ferocity with which these ants defend their colonies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe association between Mydas fly larvae and leaf-cutter ant nests is one of the more remarkable and poorly understood relationships in tropical entomology. How the larvae gain access to and survive within a colony of millions of aggressive ants remains largely mysterious. Gauromydas heros is a scarce insect, seldom seen and difficult to study, which only adds to its reputation. Holding the title of the world's largest fly is distinction enough, but doing so while living among leaf-cutters suggests a life considerably more interesting than its size alone implies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Axisophy","offers":[{"title":"Large (50 × 70 cm | 20 × 28 in)","offer_id":45864087388321,"sku":"APW-BUG-MF-P-500x700-AM-COL","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"XLarge (70 × 100 cm | 28 × 40 in)","offer_id":45864087421089,"sku":"APW-BUG-MF-P-700x1000-AM-COL","price":80.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0483\/1546\/5889\/files\/Axisophy-MydasFly-mockup-1.jpg?v=1770826917","url":"https:\/\/axisophy.com\/products\/mydas-fly-gauromydas-heros","provider":"Axisophy","version":"1.0","type":"link"}