Bot fly - Cuterebra jellisoni

Moved

… v belov, 12 June, 2009 - 2:47pm

Cuterebra jellisoni (Curran)

Really nice picture. The red in the eyes (only seen while alive-fades in pinned specimens) shows that this is a rabbit botfly, not a rodent bot. The red eye pattern is slightly different in each species of rabbit bot. That combined with your nice shots from different angles, makes me quite confident this is Cuterebra jellisoni, a bot which primarily infects Lepus californicus. MO is at the very edge of L. californicus range, so possible it is using another rabbit host? But only a few known records from other rabbits.

… George "Jeff" Boettner, 16 April, 2009 - 4:49pm

Moved

Moved from Flies.

… Matthias Buck, 11 August, 2008 - 2:33pm

Bot

This may be in Cuterebra. These do not use intermediate insect egg carriers. They often lay the eggs near animal burrows or runs. And the eggs get incidentally attached to the mammal host. So open cuts would not be a problem here. The adults are still rarely see. As reflected by the number of shots on this now massive photos site.

… Herschel Raney, 16 June, 2008 - 3:11pm

Interesting!

Thanks, Herschel! Although it was a poor attempt at humor on my part perhaps, I just wanted to bring up that bot flies are associated with significant human disease in some parts of the world...

This is an overkill comment, but I think this a fascinating topic! According to the chapter by Clay Cockerell in Pathology of Infectious Diseases, it is usually Chrysomia sp. that cause wound myiasis, while Cuterebra sp. and Dermatobia hominis can cause furuncular myiasis, a disease caused by laying eggs at the site of a bite or laying eggs on intermediate insect hosts, as you mentioned...

Although I think that furuncular myiasis is quite rare in the US, it does still happen and is associated with these flies -

1: Clin Infect Dis. 2003 Apr 1;36(7):e73-80. Epub 2003 Mar 19.

Autochthonous furuncular myiasis in the United States: case report and literature review.

Safdar N, Young DK, Andes D.

Most cases of furuncular myiasis in the United States are acquired during travel to other countries. Autochthonous cases are infrequently reported and are most often due to accidental infestation of humans by larvae of flies belonging to the genus Cuterebra, commonly known as "rabbit bot flies" or "rodent bot flies." We describe a case of furuncular myiasis due to Cuterebra larvae in the hand of a patient residing in Wisconsin. The infestation was acquired while the patient gardened near a seepage lake during August. The patient developed papular lesions on the hand and received therapy for presumed bacterial furunculosis, which did not lead to improvement. Retrieval of one of the larvae from the patient permitted identification of the causative agent, and application of an occlusive ointment resulted in complete cure. North American cuterebrid myiasis is rare, and the diagnosis is frequently delayed. Myiasis should be considered when treating patients with refractory furunculosis.

Great find, Steve!

… Ken Schneider, 16 June, 2008 - 3:47pm

Bot furuncles

I have seen only one in a patient and my wife (also a Doctor) has treated one. I did not try and ID the included grub. I can only imagine that a Cuterebra caused furuncle was caused by contact with the eggs on a plant. And the larva are apparently capable of penetrating intact skin. The one my wife saw was a patient returning from a trip to Florida. And we are still not sure this wasn't mosquito carrier transmitted. Not sure if that has even occurred in the US borders. Indeed, this is an interesting group.

… Herschel Raney, 16 June, 2008 - 10:11pm

Thanks.

I was suprised when I first saw this one flying low to the ground looking for a place to land.

… Steve Kortum, 16 June, 2008 - 4:15pm

Cool!

I hope you didn't have any open cuts when you were around these guys! :)

… Ken Schneider, 16 June, 2008 - 11:18am