Subject: screwworm?
Location: Oman
March 28, 2014 12:29 pm
Hi. I’m on the Arabian coast (Muscat, Oman) and recently found some feral dogs infected with this fly. It was curious to me because it was crawling underneath the coat, down at the skin level, and crawled on the dog as much as flew around him. Kinda hopeful that this is NOT screwworm, because… poor dogs!
Photos taken today (sorry — the fly’s a bit smooshed).
Signature: Char
Hi Char,
This looks like a Louse Fly in the family Hippoboscidae. Louse Flies feed on the blood of birds and mammals. According to BugGuide “Most are host specific on bird species, with a few occurring on mammals.” There are species that feed on sheep and deer, but we believe if they do not find a preferred host, they may feed off other species.