Comments on: Rabbit Bot Fly http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2009/08/18/bot-fly-7/ Are we experts yet? Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:56:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: kkroeker http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2009/08/18/bot-fly-7/comment-page-1/#comment-10524 kkroeker Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:11:26 +0000 http://www.whatsthatbug.com/?p=19135#comment-10524 Daniel: I think you are right on all points Daniel, except perhaps the ectoparasite part. It does look like a Cuterebra spp. which are opertunistic parasites of small mammals. According to the online Merck Veterinary Clinic (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/71500.htm): “Adult Cuterebra flies are large and bee-like and do not feed or bite. Females deposit eggs around the openings of animal nests, burrows, along runways of the normal hosts, or on stones or vegetation in these areas. A female fly may deposit 5-15 eggs/site and >2,000 eggs in her lifetime. Animals become infested as they pass through contaminated areas; the eggs hatch in response to heat from a nearby host. In the target host, the larvae enter the body through the mouth or nares during grooming or, less commonly, through open wounds. After penetration, the larvae migrate to various species-specific subcutaneous locations on the body, where they develop and communicate with the air through a breathing pore. After ~30 days, the larvae exit the skin, fall to the soil, and pupate.” Sounds a bit nasty! K Daniel:

I think you are right on all points Daniel, except perhaps the ectoparasite part. It does look like a Cuterebra spp. which are opertunistic parasites of small mammals. According to the online Merck Veterinary Clinic (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/71500.htm): “Adult Cuterebra flies are large and bee-like and do not feed or bite. Females deposit eggs around the openings of animal nests, burrows, along runways of the normal hosts, or on stones or vegetation in these areas. A female fly may deposit 5-15 eggs/site and >2,000 eggs in her lifetime. Animals become infested as they pass through contaminated areas; the eggs hatch in response to heat from a nearby host. In the target host, the larvae enter the body through the mouth or nares during grooming or, less commonly, through open wounds. After penetration, the larvae migrate to various species-specific subcutaneous locations on the body, where they develop and communicate with the air through a breathing pore. After ~30 days, the larvae exit the skin, fall to the soil, and pupate.” Sounds a bit nasty! K

]]> By: equalrights4parasites http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2009/08/18/bot-fly-7/comment-page-1/#comment-10523 equalrights4parasites Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:03:05 +0000 http://www.whatsthatbug.com/?p=19135#comment-10523 Hi Denise, This is a female botfly, Cuterebra buccata which is a rabbit bot. Its host is generally Sylvilagus floridanus (and maybe other species of Sylvilagus in some areas). The larvae are sometimes seen in the neck or shoulder, and/or rump and hip of the rabbit. The red marks in the eyes are only observed in rabbit bots, and your location in IL helps narrow it to a few species. Luckily there is just enough of the white lower face showing in your photo to narrow it to C. buccata. They are not very often seen laying eggs, so nice to catch that on film. Hi Denise,
This is a female botfly, Cuterebra buccata which is a rabbit bot. Its host is generally Sylvilagus floridanus (and maybe other species of Sylvilagus in some areas). The larvae are sometimes seen in the neck or shoulder, and/or rump and hip of the rabbit. The red marks in the eyes are only observed in rabbit bots, and your location in IL helps narrow it to a few species. Luckily there is just enough of the white lower face showing in your photo to narrow it to C. buccata. They are not very often seen laying eggs, so nice to catch that on film.

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