Botfly
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 Horse Botfly (Gasterophilus intestinalis)
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Oestridae (also called botfly or bot fly) is a family of Oestroidea. It is one of several families of hairy flies whose larvae live as parasites within the bodies of mammals, such as the Desert Woodrat. There are approximately 150 known species worldwide.
Only one bot fly species attacks humans, the Dermatobia hominis. For many years the deer botfly was cited as the fastest flying insect in the Guiness Book of World Records, but the claim has been refuted and is no longer considered probable.
[edit] Lifecycle
- Adult botflies deposit eggs on a host body, or sometimes use an intermediate vector: common houseflies for example.
- Eggs are deposited on animal skin directly, or the larvae drop from the egg: the body heat of the animal induces hatching upon contact. Some forms of botfly also reside in the digestive tract when consumed by a licking action.
- Myiasis can be caused by larvae burrowing into the skin (or tissue lining) of the host animal.
- Mature larvae drop from the host and complete the pupal stage in soil.
- They do not kill the host animal, and thus are true parasites (though some species of rodent-infesting botflies do consume the host's testes).
[edit] Reference
- Pape, T. (2001). Phylogeny of Oestridae (Insecta: Diptera). Systematic Entomology 26, 133-171. doi: 10.1046/
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
- Encyclopedia.com article
- "Bug Attack" documentary: includes footage and description of botflies
- A snopes article concerning a botfly infestation (warning: contains graphic medical images)
- Doctor pulls botfly from woman's scalp video (warning: graphic)
- Young botfly lava (3 weeks old) extracted from an arm (Photo)
- Human Botfly, Description and Cure
- Botfly, Description and Treatment
- Botfly removed from a man's back (warning: graphic)
