Cattle bots!

While out visiting our friend Rafael’s ranchito yesterday, we were surrounded by a herd of curious cattle. These were a mix of both Brahmas and Holsteins, with some crosses as well. One animal in particular caught my eye; it appeared to have bot emergence holes on its sides.

I asked Rafael what these were, and sure enough, he told me that these were “torsalo”, basically the same New World bot that scientists are always getting in the Neotropics. I was not aware that Dermatobia hominis parasitizes cattle, but apparently it quite commonly does so. It makes sense, as emergence sites of Cattle Grubs would be higher up on the back of the animal.

I love it how my entomological training really gets awakened when travelling in new areas.

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