Considering their size, they are one nasty critter.
Today’s Bug of the Week rates pretty high on the ‘ick-o-meter’ for its nasty habit of infesting other creatures.
Mike Burdy spotted a bot fly recently in Naramata, but the black bug with a ‘fur coat’ can be found pretty much everywhere in the region.
While there are 30 known versions of bot flies, an internet search points to the tree squirrel bot fly as the one spotted by Burdy.
This particular bot fly lays its eggs on squirrels or chipmunks, as witnessed by Dan Mennear who snapped a pic of a chipmunk near Lumby that appears to be infected with at least two bot fly larvae.
Bot flies infest dogs, horses and a variety of other mammals.
According to Wikipedia, Botflies, are also known as warble flies, heel flies and gadflies.
Their larvae are internal parasites of mammals, some species growing in the host’s flesh and others within the gut.
Dermatobia hominis is the only species of botfly known to parasitize humans, and, thankfully, those are found in Central and South America.
Though other species of bot flies can cause myiasis in humans.
Have you had a close encounter of the insect kind? Send us a picture at [email protected] and we may feature it as our Bug of the Week.
