Bot flies
 

Damn! I hate these buggers.
My boss was recently to Costa Rica. A day before yesterday he told me that he has some kind of pimple after a mosquito bite. The doctor gave him antibiotics but it doesn’t seem to be working for 4 days. It triggered my doubt that he might be bitten by some kind of insect with many legs. I don't know the English word for that. Either way, I asked him if he can show that infected area to me. When he showed me the sore area then I was surprised. It was not a bite of the insect I was thinking. The swollen area was a little bigger. I told him that it is definitely not because of mosquito but it is something else. Either way, I came back on my seat and started Googling. There I came to know about botfly and the larva of the botfly that develops under the mammal skin. Well, if you are not lucky then you may get one under your skin.

The botfly doesn't leave the larva under your skin. Rather, it catches a mosquito or some other blood sucking flying insect, leaves its eggs on the carrier host, and let him go. When the mosquito bites you then the egg hatches due to the warmness of your skin. Then that small little brat goes under your skin and stays there until it is mature enough. The mature larva then drops in the soil for pupae stage. You should not try to take that out with your fingers as it is difficult to take it out. Second, since the larva has spines on its body so it is possible that you will leave some of its part behind , and this may create an infection.

Ok back to the track. I went back to my boss after Googling with few prints outs and showed him what he had. He was a little nervous (not as nervous as ladies). He called to the health center and told them what he read. The health center said him again that it is just a mosquito bite. Either way, after 20 minutes debate, the health center gives him an appointment for a little surgical operation.

I was too curious to see the larva so I asked if I can come there to see the procedure. I was allowed. Hurray! During the surgical operation, when the doctor saw the living larva, he almost jumped on his place. He said that he never saw such thing before during a surgical operation. The larva died after sometime though. Maybe he didn't like the new environment.

Here are the few photos of the larva of botfly. I wonder why nature has such useless thing.

http://www.vexman.com/botflyla.jpg

http://www.vexman.com/botflyho.jpg
Spines on the larva. Now you know that why it is difficult to take it away without any proper treatment.

http://www.vexman.com/botflymo.jpg
Mouth of the larva.

freaky!

scary! :88)

It's so vile that Oombongo should be banned! :88)

urgh.

:huh: ...... mom, can I sleep next to you tonight? Please? :cry:

I once saw a show on TV where a British woman went on holiday to South America and returned to discover a parasite similar to what you show here was in her scalp. It was burrowed down into her skin. It was just disgusting to look at. The treatment was very simple. Spread large amounts of vasseline over the wound so that eventually the parasite suffocates. Yuck! :o

Poor parasite. R.I.P. :nope: :-j

I didn't post the pics from medical use of maggots which I found while googling. Shall I post them on demand? :D :D

Definately larva of botfly. Yes the vasseline or gel trick works which I didn't know. The larva I saw was in its young age. Can't image what pain my boss faced. I still feel the fear running in my spinal cord when I think about that little bugger. Reminds me of:
http://members.tripod.com/skunkboy123/baby.jpg

I'm sure I saw somewhere that one way of 'encouraging' the larve to leave the host was to place a slice of raw bacon over the wound to coax the maggot out. There was a pic of a guy with the bacon attached to the top of his head with some string to keep it in place...
Whatever, it just makes me cringe though.

In a recent consumer study 3 out of 4 larva said they prefered bacon to the taste of humans....

:rotfl:

Bot flies
 

If anybody feels that this subject is too distatefull for the General Topic Forum, keeps you off your well earned sleep, makes you throw up while the ocean is calm or distract you from your Fatherland duty to sink Allied cargo ships, please report and Oombongo will face the dire consequences of sharing his illustrated bedside story with the community and the thread will be locked!

Abraham
:D

Re: Bot flies
 

Actually, I believe most species of life on earth are, in fact, parasitic. :hmm:

Re: Bot flies
 

Didn't offend me.
It was regailing like back around the campfire and very informative. Would you rather not know and obliviously go through life until one invaded your body or know so that you can relive the anthrax scare and wear glad wrap and hefty bag suits for protection?


and its cute it reminds me of this,
http://www.xenomorph.org/images/alie...aceballs_2.jpg

Re: Bot flies
 

I think that was a joke.... Right??? :hmm: