Field Guide to Venomous and Medically Important Invertebrates ...

(Cochliomyia hominivorax). Infestation by these species may cause significant physical and
psychological trauma in the patient.
Figure 166. The life stages of a fly: eggs, larvae (maggots), pupae, adults. These life stages are
typical of most flies. Photo: source unknown.
Human bot fly
The eggs of the human bot fly are carried to the host attached to the legs of a mosquito or biting
fly. After the young bot fly larva penetrates the host's skin, it feeds continuously for 5-12 weeks
from a dermal pocket causing pain and itching to the host. At the prepupal stage, the bot leaves
the host, falls to the ground and pupates. The distribution of the human bot fly extends from
Mexico throughout most of Central and South America. Although human bot flies cause some
pain and irritation in the host, this infestation is self-limiting as the larvae completes it
development.
Figure 167. Human bot fly larva (Dermatobia hominis). Photo: Marcelo de Campos Pereira.
Tumbu and Lund’s fly
Tumbu fly and Lund’s fly are two African species that can cause myiasis in humans. The
Tumbu fly, or Mango fly, is a common in tropical Africa south of the Sahara Desert, and it has
been recorded in southwestern Saudi Arabia since 1980. By comparison, Lund’s fly is
distributed in rainforest areas of tropical Africa, from Senegal to Central Africa and south to
Angola and Rhodesia where it usually is associated with rodents. However, Lund’s fly is
implicated in human myiasis less often than Tumbu fly. Females of these two species deposit
their eggs below the surface of sandy soil and occasionally on clothing tainted with traces of