Bot Flies
<h1 style=”text-align: center;”>Bot Flies</h1>
<h2 style=”text-align: center;”>Trypophobia Inducing Bugs</h2>
<h2 style=”text-align: center;”>Warning: This Page has pictures that may or may not induce trypophobia</h2>
<a href=”http://trypophobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/botfly1.jpg”><img title=”bot fly” src=”http://trypophobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/botfly1.jpg” alt=”trypophobia bot fly” width=”280″ height=”167″ /></a> Bot Fly<a href=”http://trypophobia.net” title=”bot fly”>Botflies </a>are any fly belonging to the Oestridae family and written in many ways such as bot fly, bot-fly or bott fly. Unlike other common flies, a botfly’s life cycle vary depending on what species it is. But the common thing about botflies is that their larvae are parasitic. It means that a botfly larva inhibits inside mammals as hosts. There are 150 known species in the Oestridae family.
<script type=”text/javascript”>// <![CDATA[
google_ad_client = "ca-pub-0620106861477816"; /* trypophobia.com in ad text */ google_ad_slot = "9545203024"; google_ad_width = 650; google_ad_height = 15;
// ]]></script>
<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js”>// <![CDATA[
// ]]></script>
Depositing their eggs is sometimes more complex than just merely injecting it into their host. Sometimes, they can use other common housefly, ticks or mosquitoes as a carrier for their eggs. Dermatobia fly eggs are reported to be vectored by over forty known species of mosquitoes and muscoid flies as well as one species of tick.
<a href=”http://trypophobia.org” title=”trypophobia”>Botflies </a>start their developmental stage when female botflies capture mosquitoes and attach and release the eggs to its body. Then, the eggs will either hatch while the mosquito is feeding, or it will use the insect bite as a point of entry. Sometimes the botfly eggs will simply fall from the carrier fly when it lands on the skin of the potential host. For eight weeks, the larvae will develop in the tissue lining or the subcutaneous layers of the skin and will then drop in the soil to complete its pupa phase for at least a week. When they mature, adult botflies would look like small gray flies that resemble a blowfly.
<script type=”text/javascript”>// <![CDATA[
google_ad_client = "ca-pub-0620106861477816"; /* trypophobia.com in ad text */ google_ad_slot = "9545203024"; google_ad_width = 650; google_ad_height = 15;
// ]]></script>
<script type=”text/javascript” src=”http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js”>// <![CDATA[
// ]]></script>
Human botfly, also known as Dermatobia hominis, is the only type of botfly that uses humans (and other primates as well as animals) as its larvae’s host, subsequently causing myiasis in humans. Myiasis is caused when a botfly larva burrows into the skin or tissue lining of a host and the maturing larva will drop from the host and complete its pupa stage in the soil. The larvae can induce extreme sub-epidermal pain due to its spines. An infected skin by a human bot fly creates irregular shaped cluster of holes resembling a honeycomb wherein certain people develop a psychological fear of holes known as trypophobia.
<a href=”http://trypophobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/human_bot_fly05.jpg”><img title=”human_bot_fly” src=”http://trypophobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/human_bot_fly05.jpg” alt=”bot fly” width=”320″ height=”250″ /></a> magnified bot flyTrypophobia is an irrational fear of holes made naturally or manufactured, synthetically formed holes, circles, pods, cuts, cracks and/or other asymmetrical shapes, especially those found in nature. It might sound strange to some people, but this repetitive pattern phobia is believed to be as real as other clinically and psychologically proven phobias such as arachnophobia and ophidiophobia. Trypophobia is not yet accepted in our lexicon, but this unofficial phobia has been garnering a lot of attention in online phobia forums and Facebook pages where people plagued with trypophobia leave comments about how they feel repulsed and had a sudden impulse of scratching or vomiting whenever they see botfly-infested skin or any clusters of holes commonly found in Surinam toads, lotus pods or lamprey eels.
Human bot flies are commonly found in South and Central America, especially in Mexico, Chile and northern Argentina. It is reported that although botflies are found in these areas, it is considered not harmful enough and have never attained a true pest status.
Considered to be true parasites, botflies are known not to kill their hosts. However, there are some rodent-infesting botfly species that consume their host’s ovaries or testes. Cattles that are infected with botflies are riddled with lesions and can become infected with Mannheimia granulomatis. This is a bacterium that causes lechiguana, rapidly growing lumps just beneath the skin of the animal, which, if not treated immediately with antibiotics, can cause the animal to die within three to eleven months.
Equestrian caretakers are often overridden with concerns during the seasonal infestiation of equine botfly. These botflies lay eggs on the insides of the horses’ front legs, throat, nose, knees and on the cannon bone. The botfly eggs look like small, yellow drops of paint. When the horse rubs its nuzzle in its legs, the eggs will be transferred to the nose and mouth and will therefore travel to the intestines where the larvae will grow and attach into the stomach lining or will pass into the small intestines and attach themselves there. The attachment of the botfly larvae into the tissue results to mild irritation that will cause lesions and erosions.
<a href=”http://trypophobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/botfly3.jpg”><img title=”botfly3″ src=”http://trypophobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/botfly3-300×231.jpg” alt=”bot fly” width=”300″ height=”231″ /></a> bot fly infesting brainSometimes, botfly larvae inhabit in the horse’s hair, which is difficult to remove since the tendons and bone is directly under the skin on the cannon bones. Botfly larvae will remain attached to develop within ten to twelve months before they are passed out in the feces. Equine caretakers would often report that they see botfly larvae in the horse’s manure. To prevent infestation in the horse, the eggs must be carefully removed during the laying season, which is during late summer and early autumn. Removal of the eggs requires a sharp knife or sand paper. Botfly eggs must be caught before they reach the ground. They can also be controlled by using several types of dewormers such as ivermectin, trichlorfon and dichlorvos.
Common known remedies to remove botfly larvae would be covering the location or the entry point with an adhesive tape to cause partial asphyxiation, weakening the botfly larva. This procedure isn’t recommended by physicians though. Since the botfly larva’s breathing tube is fragile, it might break when the adhesive tape is removed and therefore leave the rest of the larva behind in the skin.
Placing raw meat over the botfly-infected area is also a commonly known remedy. It is believed that the botfly larvae will be attracted to the meat, coaxing it out of the skin and will attach itself to the meat. This procedure hasn’t been proven completely effective. Another solution would be to use the tree sap from the matatorsalo found in Costa Rica, which is believed to kill the botfly <a href=”http://larvae.com” title=”larvae”>larvae</a>, but leave its body in the host’s skin.
<a href=”http://trypophobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/rabbitbotfly2.jpg”><img title=”rabbitbotfly2″ src=”http://trypophobia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/rabbitbotfly2-300×200.jpg” alt=”bot fly” width=”300″ height=”200″ /></a> bot flyAn effective removal of the botfly larva is through application of several coats of nail polish on the location of the infected skin or the larvae’s point of entry. This process weakens the larva by partial asphyxiation or suffocation. Another effective procedure would be to use petroleum jelly or Vaseline to the infected area. This will prevent the botfly larva from having air, weakening and suffocating it. This procedure will take about a day before the dead <a href=”http://trypophobia.com” title=”bot fly”>botfly </a>larvae can be squeezed out of the skin.
Physicians recently discovered that venom extractor syringes can successfully remove botfly larvae easily in any stage of its growth or development. This is an effective and easy solution and remedy for botfly infections since first aid kits are equipped with these devices that are used to deal with snakebites.
