animals

sick - o -- if you've got a weak stomach - as i do ------ well

from msu's landscape CAT [crop advisory team] alert web site

Adult Cuterebra flies are huge by fly standards. Some are as big as 3/4 of an inch or longer with robust and hairy, bumblebee-like bodies. They are rarely seen. Females lay their eggs in or near the entrance of the host's burrow (or cage). When the eggs mature, they are ready to hatch within seconds after the host's body heat is detected. To catch a host, the tiny maggot pops a hole in the skin of the egg and sticks out its hook-like mandible (jaws) and grabs hold of the fur of the unsuspecting host. Once on board, the maggot enters the host through a natural body opening or chews through one of its own making. After a few days the larva migrates to a particular area of the host's body, which varies with the species of the bot. [bot ? bot ? damn] Once suitably located, the tiny maggot forms a pocket-like warble (bot) just under the skin. The rabbit bot prefers the back of the neck [italics mine] while the mouse bot prefers the belly area. One species that attacks chipmunks, Cuterebra emasculator, seems to prefer the scrotum if its host happens to be male.

from dr barney

Outdoor cats pick them up when small flies lay eggs on the skin of the face. These eggs hatch into larvae which migrate into the nose and then under the skin to emerge from the neck or back of the animal. Once the larva drops from the animal, it eventually develops into a fly to complete the life cycle.

now the story - i finally caught the kitten. ya, it is wild as heck. after wrapping it in a towel i took a closer look at the bloody spot on it's neck. a frigging worm was sticking the end of it's bod out of this little hole in the kittens neck. did i puke? naw. i went and grabbed the rubbing alcohol and poured it all over. did it help ? doubtful. so i went searching on the net as to what it could possibly be since vets charge an arm and a leg to even look at an animal and jeez this one isn't even one of mine, it was probably dropped off along with it's mama. pox on people who dump animals. so --- this is what i'll be doing tomorrow. cutting a maggot out from under the kittens' neck. got the scalpel, betadine and enough gauze and tape to wrap a human arm. shall see if i can stomach this. true i am a medical assistant but damn it's a frigging worm or maggot or whatever you want to call it. the extent of my exposure to parasites are the books at UCLA and my morbid curiosity not the actual b.s. sigh.