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MISC. PUBLICATION 631, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



duller than the abdomen and may be partly or wholly covered with 

 opaque pollen or dense hair. 



Pathogenesis. — The one case of parasitism of man by this genus is 

 described by Beachley and Bishopp (11). A woman, while working 

 in a yard in Arlington, Va., suddenly felt a sharp sting in her right 

 nostril. Ten days later she felt violent pains in the right side of her 

 face and extending into the throat, shoulders, and back ; the following 

 day a fully developed first-stage larva (fig. 46) of Cuterebra was 

 sneezed out. Wild rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and field mice were 

 known to have been in or near her yard at the time of infestation. 



The species normally parasitize rabbits and other rodents; the 

 larvae occur singly as subdermal parasites in cysts which open to the 



Figure 46. — Cuterebra sp., first-stage larva, from a case of human myiasis. 

 (Beachley and Bishopp (11).) 



outside. Occasionally dogs and cats are parasitized. Eggs are, at 

 least in some cases, deposited at random in the ground near the 

 entrance of the burrows of the host. 



The Genus DERMATOBIA Brauer 



Only one species in this genus is now generally recognized ; there- 

 fore, all discussion will be given under that heading. 



DERMATOBIA HOMINIS (Linnaeus Junior) 



The Human Bot ; the Neotropical Bot 10 



Synonyms.— Oestrus hominis Linnaeus Junior ; Dermatobia cyaneiventris 

 (Macquart) ; Dermatobia noxlalis (Goudot). 



Recognition Characteks. — Adult : This is a robust fly, about 12 mm. in length, 

 that bears some superficial resemblance to the bluebottle fly. The head is 

 mainly yellow, although its upper parts are darkened; the thorax is dull blue, 

 somewhat clouded with pollen; the abdomen is metallic blue. The arista is 

 pectinate; the face is rather deeply depressed, with only a vestigial carina; 

 the proboscis, contained within a deep furrow on the ventral side of the head, 



10 Numerous local and vernacular names have been applied to this species. 

 See page 104. 



