Singapore - A tiny fly that feeds on frog blood could help hone sophisticated military spy-ware in the future, according to a report published Saturday.

The 2-millimetre fly discovered by a National University of Singapore postgraduate researcher feeds on the blood of a tree-dwelling frog which lives in regional forests.

"Despite its size, it manages to hear in stereo to locate the frog call in the cacophony of the forest," the Straits Times quoted Gwyne Lim as saying.

"If we find out how it does this, it could have applications for generating better hearing aids for military surveillance systems," she noted.

The fly was among 15 lookalike species related to the sandfly, which Lim identified through DNA bar-coding.

Lim said she is planning to study the flexible membranes, which are the flies' equivalent to ears, and how the insects respond to different sounds. (dpa)