Rock a Botfly Baby:Botfly Larvae Survival in Humans vs. Non-humans

Native to Central and South America, the infamous botfly is feared by many due to its preferred host being the bodies of mammals, including humans, as they make perfect homes and buffets for their offspring. Botflies are parasitic flies part of the Oestridae family and there are approximately 150 species of botflies, one being the human botfly, Dermatobia hominis. The human botfly uses an intermediate vector to deliver its babies for it. In this study I examined the number of botfly larvae found in human hosts compared to non-human hosts. The number of botfly larvae from several different species were observed being extracted from humans and non-human mammals. Data was collected by watching and analyzing 16 extractions from humans and non-humans. Larvae were accounted for per individual. Histograms were developed from the data collected. The highest number of botfly larvae found in a non-mammal host was 10. The highest number of botfly larvae extracted from a human was 5. Botfly mothers tend to lay more eggs inside of non-human mammals. The eggs that developed into larvae in the non-human mammals may have been from a species of botfly that uses its ovipositor to directly lay its eggs into a mammal host. A mother botfly may have more surviving offspring when they deposit their eggs directly into their host compared to using an intermediate vector to reach their human host. Another study should be conducted to determine whether botfly larvae have a higher survival rate in smaller versus larger mammals