Categories

This bug is big…
Dear Bugman,
I found this bug on our inside garage window, Buffalo, WY (high desert). I thought the noise must be coming from a large bee or something because of the loudness of the buzzing. I have looked some on the internet, but can’t seem to find a match. I hope some of the pics are helpful. It is an inch long from front to back of the wing. If you look it in the face, it looks like a bulldog.It has a kind of shell over its thorax, similar to a beetle. It’s mainly curiosity to know what it is, as we have only seen one. However, we do have small children and a dog, so if it’s a nasty, I need to know. Thanks!
darla. Buffalo, WY

Hi Darla,
This amazing creature is a Bot Fly or Warble Fly. The larvae of Bot Flies are endoparasites. Most North American species have rodents as host, but tropical species are human parasites. Bot Flies are in the family Oestridae, and New World species are in the subfamily Cuterebrinae. Though there is a Central American species of Bot Fly that will parasitize humans, the North American species are harmless unless you are a squirrel or rabbit.

Related Posts

1. Bot Fly (July 3, 2007)
2. Tachinid Fly Pupae (December 26, 2007)
3. Bot Fly (July 16, 2007)
4. Fanmail regarding Unnecessary Carnage (August 9, 2009)
5. Unnecessary Carnage: Sharing the Title (August 11, 2009)