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Cuterebra emasculator

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cuterebra emasculator
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Oestridae
Genus: Cuterebra
Species:
C. emasculator
Binomial name
Cuterebra emasculator
Fitch, 1856
Synonyms[1]
  • Cuterebra scutellaris Brauer, 1863

Cuterebra emasculator, the squirrel bot fly, is a species of new world skin bot fly in the family Oestridae. The species was first described by Asa Fitch in 1856. [1][2][3][4] It is an internal parasite of chipmunks and tree squirrels in the eastern United States. The species' name comes from the belief that larvae ate the testicles of chipmunks. This belief is false, as parasitism by the larvae of these flies does not result in lower fertility - chipmunks mate in the spring, while botfly infections occur in the summer, and the larva do not impede sperm production as they reside below the skin. [5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Cuterebra emasculator Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  2. ^ "Cuterebra emasculator species details". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  3. ^ "Cuterebra emasculator". GBIF. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  4. ^ "Cuterebra emasculator Species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  5. ^ Timm, Robert M.; Lee, Richard E. (31 July 1981). "Do Bot Flies, Cuterebra (Diptera: Cuterebridae), Emasculate their Hosts?". Journal of Medical Entomology. 18 (4): 333–336. doi:10.1093/jmedent/18.4.333. hdl:2374.MIA/5859. PMID 7265137.