Field Guide to Venomous and Medically Important Invertebrates ...

should consider the potential health risks of foods stocks when they are contaminated with
dermestids.
Figure 164. Khapra beetle larva (Trogoderma granarium). Photo: Agriculture Western
Australia.
Figure 165. Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium). Photo: Andreas Herrman.
Flies
True flies (Order Diptera) are the source of considerable human suffering throughout the world.
They can be generally grouped into three artificial groups in terms of their annoyance to people.
They include flies that cause myiasis, flies that bite and cause annoyance and/or transmit
diseases, and filth flies.
Flies that Cause Myiasis
Although many different flies may cause myiasis in humans, only a few species produce myiasis
with such frequency and severity to merit inclusion here. For example, at least fifty species of
fly larvae have been reported in cases of enteric or intestinal ―pseudomyiasis‖ in people. These
species primarily belong to the families Muscidae, Calliphoridae, and Sarcophagidae, and most
often the infestation originates from the patient consuming fly eggs attached to food. This type
of myiasis is usually self-limiting although it may cause psychological trauma in some patients.
By comparison, fly larvae that normally breed in meat, carrion, or living tissue may become
involved in traumatic and cutaneous myiasis. Some of the notable species that cause traumatic
myiasis in people include the human bot fly (Dermatobia hominis), the Tumbu fly (Cordylobia
anthropophaga), Lund's fly (Cordylobia rodhaini) and the New World screwworm fly