#moose botfly

[ms-scarletwings]

Cephenemyia ulrichii (the moose throat botfly) is the funniest insect alive to me and there is no competition because

This species will have the most innocent adorable kissable marketable appearance of any fly evolved, but then you look them up and they have blood curdling lore able to turn your stomach in a sense rivaling Nick Cutter’s novels. I couldn’t even keep it together trying to read up on their life cycle for the first time because of

1. How convolutely messed up of a parasitism method they chose to thrive by

2. The extremely stupid reason behind why they accidentally end up in humans and the horrific location where

3. The images-information whiplash happening in my head that I hope this editing gets across.

[spookierz]

whos up thinking about aardvarks, african painted dogs, alligators, alpacas, anacondas, angler fish, anteaters, ants, apes, arctic foxes, armadillos, atlas moths, axolotls, bald eagles, banana slugs, barnacles, barn owls, bats, bearded dragons, bees, beetles, beluga whales, betta fish, bison, black bears, blackbirds, black widows, blow whales, bluejay, blue whales, boars, bobcats, botflies, box turtles, brown bears, brown recluse, budgies, buffalos, bulls, bumble bees, bunnies, butterflies, camels, canary, capybaras, caribou, cats, caterpillars, chameleons, cheetahs, chickadees, chickens, chimpanzees, chinchillas, chipmunks, cobras, cockroaches, cod, coelacanth, condors, cougars, cows, coyotes, crabs, cranes, crocodile, crows, cuttlefish, deer, dingoes, dogs, dolphins, donkeys, doves, ducks, eagles, earthworms, elephants, elks, emus, ferrets, finchs, fireflies, fish, fishers, fishing cats, flamingos, flatworm, flies, foxes, frogs, garter snakes, gazelles, gerbils, giant isopods, giraffes, goats, goldfish, geese, gophers, gorrilas, gray jays, great white sharks, grey catbirds, groundhogs, guinea pigs, guppies, hammerhead sharks, hamsters, hares, hartebeests, hawks, heartworms, hedgehogs, herons, hippopotamus, honey badgers, honey bees, horses, hummingbirds, hyenas, ibex, ibises, iguanas, inchworms, jackrabbits, jellyfish, jumping spiders, kangaroos, kiwi birds, koalas, komodo dragons, lady bugs, large brown bats, lemurs, leopards, lice, lions, lionfish, lizards, llamas, lobsters, locusts, luna moths, lynxes, macaws, maggots, magpies, manta rays, millipedes, moles, monarch butterflies,  monkeys, moose, mosquitoes, moths, mountain goats, mice, mules, naked mole rats, octopi, opossums, orcas, orioles, ostriches, otters, owls, oxen, pandas, pangolins, panthers, parrots, pelicans, penguins, pigeons, pigs, plankton, platypuses, polar bears, ponies, porcupines, possums, pufferfish, puffins, pumas, pygmy owls, pythons, raccoons, rams, rats, rattlesnakes, ravens, red snappers, red tailed foxes, red tailed hawks, rhinoceroses, river bass, roadrunners, robins, roly polys, rosy maple moths, salamanders, salmon, sea bass, seals, sea sponges, sea turtles, sheep, shrew, shrimp, silk moths, skunks, sloths, slugs, small brown bats, snails, snakes, snapping turtles, snowy owls, spiders, spongy moths, squids, squirrels, starfish, steller's jays, stick bugs, stingrays, stink bugs, swans, tanuki, tapeworms, tapirs, tarantulas, tawny owls, tetras, ticks, tigers, toads, toucans, turkeys, turkey vultures, turtles, vampire bats, vultures, walruses, warthogs, wasps, weevils, whale sharks, whip-poor-wills, wolverines, wolves, wombats, woodchucks, yaks, yellow jackets, zebra, and zebra-fish?

[irradiatedsnakes]

it's so important to me that botflies, known for their particularly gruesome method of maturation (young larvae are deposited onto the skin of a mammal, into which they create a burrow. the larva matures within the host's flesh, and emerges out of a small hole in the skin once fully grown larvae, which then drop off and pupate in the ground.) are often just. absolutely adorable fluffy round things not unlike bumblebees

(deer botfly, photo by karsten heinrich)

(moose nose botfly, photo by henrik larsson)

(rabbit botfly, photo by submitter evan to laptrinhx dot com)

[bogleech]

I ask this out of curiosity. Do botflies and screwworm flies still have a place in the ecosystem? Or are other parasites able to do their job just as good or better than them and that those particular flies are going the way of the creodonts (Ex. Hyenadon) and South American Giant Marsupials (Ex. Borhyena and Thylacosmilus). I don't mean to come off as antagonistic BTW, just wondering? 😬

Parasites fill a role just like predators, helping keep species from overpopulation and discourage overcrowding, plus they redistribute nutrients, which is something very important that doesn’t get talked about much.

Like, say a biy grazing mammal gets REALLY densely populated...that’s tons and tons of food going into them alone and pretty hard on the local food web, but when flies, ticks, fleas, lice, leeches and tapeworms and things take advantage of all those hosts, they’re basically “stealing back” some energy that they’ll rerelease into the ecosystem either when they’re eaten by other creatures, or they die of old age.

A moose will spend decades growing and eating before its body returns to the earth, but it’s going to nourish millions of biting insects during that time who only live for days and may spread pretty far before they pass on and rot or get snapped up by a bird or something. Collectively, that’s a lot of precious resources nature is taking back from that one animal.

It’s an old-as-dirt joke that taxes are like having your blood sucked but it really is a similar principle.