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Photo#415804
Unknown Beetle - Cuterebra lepivora

Unknown Beetle - Cuterebra lepivora
Bolsa Chica wetlands, Huntington Beach, Orange County, California, USA
June 22, 2010
Size: 1.25 - 1.5 inches

Moved

Cuterebra lepivora var. aldrichi??? male
Wow! This could be something really good! Do you have any other photos to post, especially need the leg colors and a face shot or slightly different angle if you have it? Please post.

The small red dots in the eyes hint that this is actually a rabbit bot and not a rodent bot. The red disapears shortly after collecting- so not seen in museum specimens, only photos. Did you collect this one by any chance? I would love to see a specimen of this one in hand. The body is much too dark for a normal C. lepivora (see this species in BugGuide). But in 1986 Dr. Sabrosky named a new variety of this species based on only 3 females he could find in museums. By the wide spacing in the eyes of yours, (and the posture in your photo), yours is most likely a male. If it is of this species, it is the first male EVER seen. So please post even blurry pics. By the posture I would guess this is a male looking for females. Most bots do lek behavior, meaning they play king of the hill and the bot holding the branch when a female arrives gets to mate with her. If you went back to the same spot you would likely see it again or another near by? But they only fly for a few hours a day so need to go back around the same time of day when you saw this one. If you can get more pictures, (or be willing to collect one as a specimen), it would be very helpful. Two of the other females collected were seen around June 19 and June 25th in Los Angeles Co. And one earlier record from Riverside CA in 1933. So your date even fits with what we know, which isn't much! Bots are short lived, they don't have mouths to feed, so only live for around 10 days depending on heat etc... There are only 3 known records for this species (counting two in the Smithsonian), and the male has never been seen or described. I could be wrong on this ID without better pics but not sure what else to call this... amazing find. The host mammal is likely a rabbit but no host records have been found.

I would be interested in any information about this fly, habitat, time of day it was flying, (most males lek in late morning 9 am til noon). You can email me direct at boettner@psis.umass.edu If you could email me direct any photos you have I would love to study them.

Thanks for posting. Yours may be the only known photo of this species. Pretty cool.


Jeff

sweet g! will alert Jeff Boettner -- hope he gives us a name
Moved from ID Request.

Wow! Not a beetle, but a bot fly.
Look, Ma, no mouth.

I don't know much about these, but others here will.

 
Bot fly
Thanks for the quick response. A search confirmed it as a rodent bot fly. These are nasty !

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