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

George Olah; Gabriela Vigo; Lizzie Ortiz; Lajos Rozsa; Donald J. Brightsmith

doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.12.052

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

George Olah, Gabriela Vigo, Lizzie Ortiz, Lajos Rozsa, Donald J. Brightsmith^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	245-249
Number of pages	5
Journal	Veterinary Parasitology
Volume	196
Issue number	1-2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.12.052
Publication status	Published - 1 Sept 2013

Access to Document

10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.12.052

Cite this

@article{010f10137ce546c4b6dfad87115f14a6,

title = "Philornis sp. bot fly larvae in free living scarlet macaw nestlings and a new technique for their extraction",

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.",

keywords = "Ara macao, Ectoparasitism, Extraction technique, Philornis bot fly, Scarlet macaw",

author = "George Olah and Gabriela Vigo and Lizzie Ortiz and Lajos Rozsa and Brightsmith, {Donald J.}",

year = "2013",

month = sep,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.12.052",

language = "English",

volume = "196",

pages = "245--249",

journal = "Veterinary Parasitology",

issn = "0304-4017",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

number = "1-2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Philornis sp. bot fly larvae in free living scarlet macaw nestlings and a new technique for their extraction

AU - Olah, George

AU - Vigo, Gabriela

AU - Ortiz, Lizzie

AU - Rozsa, Lajos

AU - Brightsmith, Donald J.

PY - 2013/9/1

Y1 - 2013/9/1

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Ara macao

KW - Ectoparasitism

KW - Extraction technique

KW - Philornis bot fly

KW - Scarlet macaw

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84880721991&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.12.052

DO - 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.12.052

M3 - Article

SN - 0304-4017

VL - 196

SP - 245

EP - 249

JO - Veterinary Parasitology

JF - Veterinary Parasitology

IS - 1-2

ER -

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

Abstract

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this