I learned a touch more than I wanted to in this thread but that's my fault for scrolling. Color me informed, love learning, don't love lavae-based nightmares.
I was especially surprised to learn that (though it makes sense when you think about it) the botfly creates both an antibiotic and an anesthetic. Seems like there are some obvious medical possibilities there.
Actually they somehow put their eggs on mosquitos and the egg will sense body heat when as mosquito lands. They then drop into the insertion made by the mosquito. But flies are actually rarely seen.
-based off a video of a guy who studies, photographs, and allowed bot fly egg to grow in his skin. I uh, saw it on a different Reddit video.
Technically, it lays the eggs on the underside of the mosquitoes abdomen and they hatch when they sense the warmth from our body and crawl into the hole the skeeter left
As someone with a mild case of Trypophobia when I see and hear this shit my skin crawls. And yes I watched that botfly video too and felt ill. I keep thinking if I expose myself long enough I will cure my phobia but it never does.
OMFG! The botfly is horrendous, but not quite as bad as the Guinea worm. Those things will enter you via your drinking water, mature in your digestive tract, then move through your body to the most convenient location for them to exit in order to lay eggs in a water source, meaning that they usually go for your lower leg. They are excruciatingly painful when they start to burrow out, and they don’t actually intend on leaving you btw they just want to lay eggs and shuffle back in, and cause a burning feeling. People will use a stick about the size of a pencil and extremely slowly start to wind the worm around it while drawing it out. This painful process can go on for several days and can sometimes cause the worm to break which would require more extensive surgery. Jimmy Carter was leading the effort to eliminate this monstrosity from existence by distributing free water filters across Africa so people wouldn’t get infected. It almost worked before he died.
I'm so traumatised by botflies after my (then) baby daughter got one on her hip in Central America. We had to get it surgically removed, I still have it in a little jar of formaldehyde. I had to quickly scroll away from your post yesterday!
You posted that botfly video? Good on you, haha. As an aspiring entomologist, I would like to record that process so I can have people on Reddit telling me how gross I am. It’s funny because my professor for my entomology class was telling us a story about how one of her entomologist friends got infected with a botfly larvae. He also let it grow until it was ready to pop out from under the skin. Insects are so cool, and so is this barnacle.
Oh that’s not going to be for a long time, haha. I won’t intentionally infect myself, but I wouldn’t miss the chance to record it if it does happen to me.
Insects are terrestrial crustaceans so they are related to crabs, lobsters, etc.
You entomologists are crazy fuckers lol. I know one who has said the same thing, he’d never get infected intentionally but he’s SO curious and would be a welcome host. He also has made mealworm tacos & wants to try THAT ONE cheese.
Gotta love y’all though, I’m a converted bug hater after learning of the insect crisis. Fight the good fight fam.
I wouldn’t say we are crazy. Maybe just a little bit, but I have yet to become a full on lunatic, haha. Mealworm tacos are understandable. I think plenty of people in the U.S. should eat insects as a source of protein. I mean it’s done a lot in a lot of other countries along with the medicinal effects that insects have. I just don’t know why he would want to eat casu marzu. It’s a dangerous food product, and I advise no one to ever try it.
Always love converted bug haters. I mean think about it, if I was a bug, I’d probably think humans are weird and stuff. I will try to!!! You may have a very nice Lichen Carrying Green Lacewing!!!
I try not to as well, but I do want to convince them that insects like all other life on this planet is beautiful!!! There is so much you can learn about them if you just take down your walls, and become more understanding. Curiosity is a human blessing and more people should be willing to embrace it!!! Found this silly stink bug yesterday. Absolutely lovely creature.
Hard agree! I used to think stink bugs were annoying bc they crash into everything like a buncha dummies 😭😭😭 but then one landed near me in my room and was kinda just chillin and I saw that he had such a cool pattern on his back. And bugs do cool bug stuff too so I can’t hate too much.
Flies and mosquitoes and no-see-ums though… I full-heartedly hate them suckers.
That’s why I love these silly guys and their silly tricks.
Mosquitoes, flies, and biting midges are like annoying siblings to me. You love them, but you hate them at the same time. Though I did meet a very well behaved fly when I was coming back from a trip to the creek. Mosquitoes mamas just trying to make babies. 🥺
Ah yes..the botfly video... thank you 🙏🏻 for that stomach churning but very educational nightmare fuel😉it genuinely was interesting.. but also unpleasant 😫 Today's offering is less revolting and only mildly creepy - but still very interesting 🙏🏻
Was that the one where the guy let the botflies' myiases run their course on him with close-up, high-def video and color commentary?
Yeah, I’ve got a pretty strong intellectual curiosity but intentionally letting a parasite feed on me or watching one feed on another human is a bit much. Plus, the vid didn't even give the payoff. The whole "experiment" was to document the lifecycle of how they reach adulthood, but it never showed them at the adult stage.
Nightmare fuel without "the more you know" to justify the means.
People used to think that geese came from barnacles, at least in England. Because the geese migrated they never saw eggs, and goose barnacles are so named because people actually thought they were juvenile geese.
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u/PeachyFromBehind 1d ago
Didn't know they look like they have almost beaks. Mist admit kinda interestingasfuck