Dermatobia hominis

Dermatobia hominis
Class	Secernentea
Order	Diptera
Family	Oestridae
Genus	Dermatobia
Species	D. hominis

Human Bot Fly
J. Eibl 2007, WikiMedia Commons

Human Bot Fly Larvae - Captain R. Goodman 2007, WikiMedia Commons

Also known as: Human bot fly — Torsalo — Berne — Ura

Hosts

Humans, many birds and most domestic and wild animals.

Identification

The mature larvae may grow up to 25mm in length. D. hominis are similar to Calliphora in appearance, and are of the family Oestridae. They have a blue-black abdomen, and have yellow-orange head and legs.

Larvae are distinctive as they taper towards the posterior end.

Life cycle

The adults do not feed, and draw food from the larvae stage, which accumulate stores throughout their development. The female then catches an insect, most commonly the mosquito, and lays a batch of eggs on it.

The insect lands on a host, and the L1 larvae then hatch on the host, and quickly penetrate the skin. The larvae undergo a transformation to L2, and then subsequently to L3. The larvae fully mature, and then move to the ground to pupate. They then emerge later as adults.

It is a 4 month life cycle.

Dermatobia hominis Learning Resources
Flashcards Test your knowledge using flashcard type questions	Myiasis Producing Flies Flashcards
Literature Search Search for recent publications via CAB Abstract (CABI log in required)	Dermatobia hominis publications

References

Taylor, M.A, Coop, R.L., Wall,R.L. (2007) Veterinary Parasitology Blackwell Publishing

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