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Posted on 08/07/2007 7:52:15 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
Er...relative.
Rather than a parasite that might have been inside the living mouse, I’m thinking that must be some kind of larvae planted inside the already-dead mouse by some kind of insect.
We need Grissom. He would know. :-)
But I think it’s a pretty fresh kill. It wasn’t stiff, it had been put on the porch minutes earlier. And we don’t have insects big enough to carry a baby that big around with them. Do we?
You would post that just after I’ve finished lunch...
I was thinking it had been inside trying to work it’s way out, since the mouse had died.
It wiggled.
Would before have been better? :~)
*shudder*
I’d hope so. Next to stepping in cat or dog yak in bare feet soggy socks are pretty rude.
Maybe it’s a fly larvae (a maggot):
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/maggots.html
Looks like the picture clear down toward the bottom.
These are Rodent Bot Fly Maggots, Cuterebra species. The Rodent Bot Fly is a mammalian endoparasite. According to a website we located: "The female flies will lay their eggs along rabbit trails and near rodent burrows. The first stage larvae will hatch and quickly attach to hair when a host brushes against the egg. The larvae then burrow into the skin and leave a breathing hole. " Also on the website is the information: "Cuterebra is a normal bot fly of rodents and rabbits, but can also infect cats, dogs, and man. The adult fly looks like a bumblebee and is rarely seen. It may appear a shiny blue or black color. The third stage larva is dark brown to black with stout black spines. " Your close-up photo shows the mouth hooks of the maggot, substantiated by this image on BugGuide. Bot Flies are also known as Warble Flies due to the lumps visible on the skin of the hapless host. There is also a Human Bot Fly, Dermatobia hominis, that is found in Central America.
Here’s a really big picture of it still in an animal.
http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/FIGCuterebra02.jpg
Can we spam for the precious and get the disgusting maggot pictures off the page? :)
And of *course* I had to look.
That’s repulsive!
Remind me never to move anywhere where they have human bot flies.
These can infect humans, dogs and cats. They’re here.
" . . . But better than rain or rippling streams,
Is a warble fly to haunt your dreams!"
Yum.
Yeah - “them”. I should have squeezed that mouse and seen if there were any more ;~)
Ghastly.
and seen if ...
Did I just say that? What am I, 8?
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