Oestridae
Sign in to savethumb|Juvenile male Ecuadorian mantled howler (Alouatta palliata aequatorialis) with botfly parasites
AI overview
Oestridae is a family of flies whose larvae are parasites that live inside the bodies of mammals, including humans and primates. These parasitic fly larvae, visible as bumps or lesions on the skin, matter because they can cause discomfort and potential health problems for their hosts, and understanding them helps in medicine and wildlife biology.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Taxonomy · GBIF
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumArthropoda
- ClassInsecta
- OrderDiptera
- FamilyOestridae
via GBIF · CC0
Article
7 sectionsContents
- General
- Family Oestridae
- Infestation
- As human food
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|Juvenile male Ecuadorian mantled howler (Alouatta palliata aequatorialis) with botfly parasites
Botflies, also known as warble flies, heel flies, and gadflies, are flies of the family Oestridae. Their larvae are internal parasites of mammals, some species growing in the host's flesh and others within the gut. Dermatobia hominis is the only species of botfly known to parasitize humans routinely, though other species of flies cause myiasis in humans.