Dermatobia

A genus of flies (family Oestridae) found in tropical America. [dermato- + G. bios, way of living]

- D. cyaniventris SYN: D. hominis.

- D. hominis a large, blue, brown-winged species whose larvae develop in open boillike lesions in the skin of humans, many domestic animals, and some fowl. It is a very serious and damaging cattle parasite and frequently attacks small children in Central and South America. Its eggs are laid on the legs or abdomen of another insect, such as the mosquito; the eggs later hatch, when stimulated by warmth or other factors, to release the botfly larvae on the skin of the mosquito's bloodmeal host, and the larvae quickly invade the skin to initiate myiasis. SYN: D. cyaniventris, human botfly, skin botflies, warble botfly.

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Der·ma·to·bia .dər-mə-'tō-bē-ə n a genus of botflies including one (D. hominis) whose larvae live under the skin of domestic mammals and sometimes of humans in tropical America

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n.

a genus of nonbloodsucking flies inhabiting lowland woods and forests of South and Central America. The parasitic maggots of D. hominis can cause a serious disease of the skin in humans (see myiasis). The maggots burrow into the skin, after emerging from eggs transported by bloodsucking insects (e.g. mosquitoes), and produce painful boil-like swellings. Treatment involves surgical removal of the maggots.

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Der·ma·to·bia (dur″mə-toґbe-ə) [dermato- + Gr. bios life] a genus of botflies of the family Oestridae.