Thursday, July 02, 2015
On my walk yesterday I snapped this insect that landed on a nearby rock. I couldn't see any antennae and assumed it was a bumblebee mimic of some sort. The creature wouldn't let me get behind it; as I carefully walked round to get a look at the abdomen the fly moved round to keep me in sight. There was something familiar about it, but it wasn't until this morning that I identified it.
Of course it's a bot fly (gadfly, warble fly, etc).
Bot flies lay their eggs on living animals, the larvae hatching out to feed on the flesh. But, fortunately for me, bot flies are fairly specific in their choice of host and this is probably a deer bot fly - or deer nose bot. In this case, the larvae live in the nasal cavity of (mostly red) deer. There are some pretty horrible photos and videos on the net of dead deer being cut open to show their heads full of writhing white grubs.
In any case, the only bot fly that targets humans is found in tropical America. For which we in cool temperate climes may be truly thankful (although it would be better still if the blooming things didn't exist at all).
// posted by Christine @ 6:42 AM 
