Philornis sp. bot fly larvae in free living scarlet macaw nestlings and a new technique for their extraction. Academic Article

abstract

• Bot fly larvae (Philornis genus) are obligate subcutaneous blood-feeding parasites of Neotropical birds including psittacines. We analyze twelve years of data on scarlet macaw (Ara macao) nestlings in natural and artificial nests in the lowland forests of southeastern Peru and report prevalence and intensity of Philornis parasitism. Bot fly prevalence was 28.9% while mean intensity was 5.0 larvae per infected chick. Prevalence in natural nests (11%, N=90 nestlings) was lower than in wooden nest-boxes (39%, N=57) and PVC boxes (39%, N=109). We describe a new technique of removing Philornis larvae using a reverse syringe design snake bite extractor. We compare this new technique to two other methods for removing bots from macaw chicks and find the new method the most suitable.

authors

• Brightsmith, Donald

published proceedings

• Vet Parasitol

altmetric score

• 3.75

author list (cited authors)

• Olah, G., Vigo, G., Ortiz, L., Rozsa, L., & Brightsmith, D. J.

citation count

• 7

complete list of authors

• Olah, George||Vigo, Gabriela||Ortiz, Lizzie||Rozsa, Lajos||Brightsmith, Donald J

publication date

• January 2013

publisher

• Elsevier  Publisher

published in

• Veterinary Parasitology  Journal

keywords

• Aging
• Animals
• Animals, Wild
• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Ara Macao
• Bird Diseases
• Coumaphos
• Diptera
• Drug Combinations
• Ectoparasitism
• Extraction Technique
• Insecticides
• Larva
• Myiasis
• Parrots
• Philornis Bot Fly
• Propoxur
• Scarlet Macaw
• Sulfanilamide
• Sulfanilamides

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.12.052

start page

• 245

end page

• 249

volume

• 196

issue

• 1-2

URL

• http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1016%2Fj.vetpar.2012.12.052