Is this a bot fly larva?

[PapaverFollis]

Found 2 in separate poops ? this afternoon.

They were all wormed with ivermectin 2 months ago and I did find something similar but I think bigger in a poop after that. That one was dead these ones were still wriggling... a bit.

Worm again?

 

[PapaverFollis]

Also if they are coming out without worming what does that mean? The only thing that has changed is the horses were copper deficient due to high copper antagonism (and not getting enough calcium or magnesium either) but they've had a few days on the right levels of minerals now after building up the amounts for a couple of weeks. Could someone's immune system be dealing with them themselves now?

 

[Shilasdair]

Yes - that's a botfly larvae (looks dead).
And yes - the horse could be dealing with them due to improved nutrition and hence health.

One of my horses has an overactive immune system - she has never ever had a worm in her 15 years.

 

[poiuytrewq]

? ewww, grim. I’ve never actually seen one before. We have had a few really super persistent boy flies though this year.

 

[hobo]

I saw a flying bot fly the other day do not think I have ever seen one before. New horse has tell tell orange spots on his legs which I have not seen since I bought a new horse about 20 years ago who after worming had the larve come out. Gross things.

 

[TheMule]

Yes, bot fly entering pupal stage of life cycle. The larvae live in the stomach and then dislodge themselves when they're ready so they will shed without wormer, it's normal for them.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I saw a flying bot fly the other day do not think I have ever seen one before. New horse has tell tell orange spots on his legs which I have not seen since I bought a new horse about 20 years ago who after worming had the larve come out. Gross things.

When I was a kid scraping eggs was a daily thing but like you not seen them until last summer again ?‍

 

[SpotsandBays]

When I was a kid scraping eggs was a daily thing but like you not seen them until last summer again ?‍

Same here! I feel like as a kid I was always scraping them off of my pony, but I don’t think I’ve seen the fly or eggs in 10+ years

 

[SEL]

Got eggs on 2 of mine - can't remember the last time I had to try and scrape eggs off a horse. No idea why horse #3 seems to be egg free

 

[PapaverFollis]

Right. Will get checking and scraping. I think it was only 5 or 6 weeks ago that I wormed them.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I've never seen eggs, flies or larvae before. Well apart from the ones that burrow into people's skin in the tropics...

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

I've never seen eggs, flies or larvae before. Well apart from the ones that burrow into people's skin in the tropics...

?

I remember my horse had lots of eggs when I bought him, never had to use the lava scrapy thing I bought since.

 

[PapaverFollis]

Do you think I need to worm again? It was only 5 weeks ago I did them so it should have got these?

 

[PapaverFollis]

Have these been in the horse since last autumn then? Reading life cycles and confused about why they didn't come out when I wormed them! Going to speak to the vets for recommendations tomorrow I think. Need to book for teeth to be done anyway.

 

[Lois Lame]

How interesting. Bot flies here are alive and well and still being a nuisance at the appropriate time of the year. 'Orrible things.

 

[Steerpike]

I scraped lots of eggs off mine yesterday, the first time in the 6 years at my yard I've had to do it. Pesky horrible things

 

[HBB]

I don't think that is a Botfly larvae? You are in the very north of Scotland aren't you?
It could be a beetle larvae, if it was an older poop in the field? Before worming again I would get a proper identification from your vet or somewhere like Westgate Labs.

 

[ycbm]

Right. Will get checking and scraping. I think it was only 5 or 6 weeks ago that I wormed them.

I was in a vet waiting room earlier this year when an owner with a horse in for ulcer scoping said they'd found bot larvae in the stomach wall even though the horse had recently been wormed. They were advised to worm again.

The one I saw out of one of my horses after worming was fatter than that, probably a bit under an inch long.

When I moved here 30 years ago the horses used to get bot eggs on their legs, but I've not seen any for a couple of decades or more. I was hoping they had died out, obviously not.
.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I don't think that is a Botfly larvae? You are in the very north of Scotland aren't you?
It could be a beetle larvae, if it was an older poop in the field? Before worming again I would get a proper identification from your vet or somewhere like Westgate Labs.

Yes... do we not get them here? One poop was a couple of days old in the field. The other was less than 24 hours old on the hard standing. How far north do bot flies go?

 

[HBB]

It is very rare to see them that far north. I would think that larvae has hatched from an egg that was laid on a nice warm fresh poop.

 

[PapaverFollis]

It is very rare to see them that far north. I would think that larvae has hatched from an egg that was laid on a nice warm fresh poop.

OK. Thank you. Although if they came out of MrT he was further south (Inverness though so hardly a long way south) within a bot fly life cycle time scale. There are however a very large amount on beetles in the poops generally. Plus they have been wormed twice within the possible residency of a bot fly too. The one at found after worming didn't have the bot fly spines either but was dead.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I just had to Google bot fly larvae and sift through pictures of all the buried in skin ones... ?

But it doesn't actually look like a bot fly larvae. Unless they change when they detach naturally and are going to pupate?

 

[HBB]

@PapaverFollis

This is a bot larvae

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/diagnosteq/intestinal-parasites/bots/

 

[SEL]

I was in a vet waiting room earlier this year when an owner with a horse in for ulcer scoping said they'd found bot larvae in the stomach wall even though the horse had recently been wormed. They were advised to worm again.

The one I saw out of one of my horses after worming was fatter than that, probably a bit under an inch long.

When I moved here 30 years ago the horses used to get bot eggs on their legs, but I've not seen any for a couple of decades or more. I was hoping they had died out, obviously not.
.

There were a couple when my mare was scoped a few years back. I was mortified! She'd had ivermectin about 4 weeks before.

Both mares got yellow eggs on them right now, but for some reason the gelding obviously smells different and they've avoided him.

 

[PapaverFollis]

OK. I think it is a crane fly larvae... that could also explain the few odd brown patches in my field....