Is it an Alien or an evil pokemon??

This scanning electron micrograph shows neither alien or evil pokemon character, but actually an unusual and elusive insect, commonly called a “stylops” (Order Strepsiptera). Stylops are endoparasites, which means they spend most of their lives living in and feeding on the bodies of other insects. The photo (right) shows an adult female stylops protruding from the abdomen of a fruit fly! She has no legs but is permanently stuck protruding from the fruit fly abdomen until she gives “birth”. What looks like her ‘gaping mouth’ is actually a brood canal opening. Her free-floating larvae live inside her body cavity feeding on her own haemocoel (insect equivalent of blood). When the worm-like larvae are big enough, they exit her body via the brood canal and wiggle off to find another host insect to burrow into it and begin to feed. When the larva is ready to morph into an adult it protrudes from the host abdomen either as a stationary female or as a puparium from which a free-flying male emerges. What looks like evil eyes and facial features are actually greatly reduced mouthparts! But the adult stylops never eats.  The two “earholes” are actually breathing holes (spiracles)! If an insect has been parasitised by one of these creatures, they say it has been ‘stylopized’ – how freaky is that!!