botfly

botfly
/bot"fluy'/, n., pl. botflies.
any of several flies of the families Oestridae, Gasterophilidae, and Cuterebridae, the larvae of which are parasitic in the skin or other parts of various mammals. Also, bot fly.
[1810-20; BOT + FLY2]

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Any member of several dipteran families with beelike adults and larvae that are parasitic on mammals.

Some species are serious pests of horses, cattle, deer, sheep, rabbits, and squirrels, and one species (the human botfly) attacks humans. Adults of several species lay many eggs (nits) on the host's body, and the emerging larvae penetrate its skin. The larvae reemerge through the skin, then mature into egg-laying adults. In the New World tropics, the botfly's infestation of cattle has led to loss of beef and hides. See also warble fly.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Botfly — Horse botfly (Gasterophilus intestinalis) Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia …   Wikipedia

  • Botfly — Bot fly , n. (Zo[ o]l.) A dipterous insect of the family ({Estrid[ae]}, of many different species, some of which are particularly troublesome to domestic animals, as the horse, ox, and sheep, on which they deposit their eggs. A common species is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • botfly — [bät′flī΄] n. pl. botflies [see BOT1] any of a number of dipterous flies (families Cuterebridae, Gasterophilidae, and Oestridae) resembling small bumblebees: the larvae are parasitic in people, horses, sheep, and other mammals …   English World dictionary

  • botfly — noun stout bodied hairy dipterous fly whose larvae are parasites on humans and other mammals • Hypernyms: ↑gadfly • Hyponyms: ↑horse botfly, ↑Gasterophilus intestinalis, ↑human botfly, ↑Dermatobia hominis, ↑sheep botfly, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • botfly — noun Date: 1819 any of various stout dipteran flies (family Oestridae) with larvae parasitic in cavities or tissues of various mammals including humans …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • botfly — noun One of several dipterous insects of the family Oestridae, some of which are particularly troublesome to domestic animals on which they deposit their eggs …   Wiktionary

  • botfly — Robust, hairy fly of the order Diptera, often strikingly marked in black and yellow or gray, whose larvae produce a variety of myiasis conditions in humans and various domestic animals, especially herbivores. head botflies flesh flies of the… …   Medical dictionary

  • botfly — n. horsefly …   English contemporary dictionary

  • botfly — [ bɒtflʌɪ] noun (plural botflies) a stout hairy bodied fly whose larvae are internal parasites of horses and other mammals. [Gasterophilus and other genera.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • botfly — bot·fly …   English syllables

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