Well, this is an article I never thought I would write. But, here we are. Today’s topic of discussion is something I’ve only recently run in with. Mind you, I’ve lived in Florida (nearly) my whole life. And today I saw something disgusting. For the first time, I ran into a Florida botfly. That is today’s topic of discussion.
Are there botflies in Florida?
Yes, and they’re in your yard right now. I’d bet that the only exposure you’ve had to botflies is a YouTube video. You know the ones. The creepy, gross videos of botfly larvae emerging from humans. I always thought these pests lived somewhere far away. I expected these bugs to live in Africa, maybe Asia. But no, I was wrong. Botflies are an American phenom.
Adults of this species have a very harry, striped body. They’ve been compared to a cross between a bumblebee and a housefly. Others have said it appears like it’s made of metal, thanks to its reflective hairs. Almost every species has differing coloration, with most adults lacking biting mouthparts as they do not feed. They’re best known for their larval stage: a big, gross maggot that lives in your skin and eats you from inside!
Thankfully, the ones that live in humans aren’t common here north of Mexico. But if you look outdoors, there’s a chance you’ll find a different kind. The most common Florida botfly you’ll find is the tree squirrel botfly. Known as the Cuterebra emasculator, you can find it through most of the eastern U.S. And honestly, they’re disgusting.
Facts about the Florida Botfly
The larva of this creature needs to enter an opening that already exists on the host. This can include their mouth, nose, ears, a wound, or even the anus. The adult botfly lays its eggs on twigs and branches frequented by squirrels. Then, the tiny larvae emerge from a trap door in their egg. This is triggered by heat or carbon dioxide radiating from their victims.
Accordingly, these pests then crawl around on the host’s body to find an opening. Then, they burrow their way out from the inside. I know, it’s horrible. After entering a host body, the botfly begins a week-long effort to make its way from your guts to your skin. There he molts. Then he’s a cream-colored, spiked maggot living in the skin of the new host.
When in the skin of one of their victims, larvae breath through their butts. They anchor their head towards the host and start to eat. But they don’t consume your blood like other parasites. No, the Florida botfly then consumes the puss that oozes into the warble. A warble is a hole that the fly creates and lives in.
They breathe through their butts?!
Yep, as if this creature wasn’t vile enough. The botfly uses that hole in your skin to breathe through, spending this stage of his life buried in food and pooping out of your skin.
What’s even worse, though, is the origin of its name. The “emasculator” title comes from the belief that the parasite consumes the host’s testicles. Thankfully, this isn’t true for most species. Instead, what actually happens, is that a male host’s testes are prevented from descending into the scrotum by the larvae. But when they’re finished with you and crawl out of your skin, they usually fall back out.
A Gracious Guest?
The Florida botfly has another strange fact. They don’t want to kill, or even harm you really. That’s right, the botfly is better served by a healthy host. If the host dies, so does the parasite. Because of this, you won’t find many infected warbles. When the host animal dies, even if the botfly larvae aren’t mature they will wiggle their way out.
Healthy adult squirrels can carry up to four or five warbles at the same time. During this, they’ll show rare effects, if any. After the larvae emerge, the wound tends to close in roughly a week. However, young squirrels or pregnant females can have plenty of negative side effects. The fly isn’t exactly gentle, let’s say. So if a squirrel is too young or eating for others, their bodies are more likely to give out under the added pressure.
When the pest emerges from the host’s skin, it drops to the ground and burrows into the soil to pupate. After which, the larvae form a hard case around its body. To escape this, it uses a balloon-like structure in its head. A suture opens up in the top of an adult fly, and a pouch called a “ptilinum” is inflated with blood until it bursts through the hard case. After which, the strange structure is re-absorbed into the head and the wound closes. Disgusting!
Does Florida Botfly infest humans?
Thankfully, as I mentioned above, no botfly populations exist in Florida that will regularly infest humans. However, there is one type that will. The human botfly is found in Central and South America, where many tourists have come home from vacation to find themselves sporting a few warbles of their own. For example, one woman came back from her honeymoon in Belize and had a skin lesion right by her groin. When it started to itch, she finally took a visit to the doctor, only to find out it was exactly what I mentioned above- a living botfly larva right near her unmentionables.
What may be worse is how you have to deal with these parasites. If a person finds themselves infested with botfly larvae, the only thing you can do is to suffocate it and pull it out. In South America, the common practice involves homemade remedies. This includes placing things like bacon strips, nail polish, or petroleum jelly to cover up the breathing hole. A few hours later, get your tweezer’s ready. This is when the larvae will start to emerge from the warble, and you have to carefully extract it using a pair of pinchers, or a venom extractor if you’re lucky enough to have one!