Philornis is a genus of around 50 species of fly (Diptera, Muscidae) from Central and South America. Their larvae are subcutaneous parasites of nestling birds. They are sometimes referred to as "bot flies", though they are not related to true bot flies (family Oestridae).
Two species are also found in the southern United States. One species, P. downsi, has been accidentally introduced to the Galapagos Archipelago, posing a major threat to some of its endemic birds.
They parasitize a wide range of bird species including psittacines. A study in the Peruvian Amazon compared parasite prevalence among different nests of scarlet macaws at the Tambopata research site, to see whether any of the nest types resulted in higher infestation. Parasite prevalence was significantly lower in natural nest hollows than in artificial nest boxes. The most extreme intensity was 63 larvae per chick, which is higher than those found for other Neotropical parrots. The study also described a new and efficient technique to remove larvae using a reverse syringe design snake bite extractor.
Species
Philornis aitkeni Dodge, 1963 Philornis albuquerquei Couri, 1983 Philornis amazonensis Couri, 1983 Philornis angustifrons (Loew, 1861) Philornis bella Couri, 1984 Philornis blanchardi García, 1952 Philornis carinata Dodge, 1968 Philornis cinnamomina (Stein, 1918) Philornis deceptiva (Dodge & Aitken, 1968) Philornis diminuta Couri, 1984 Philornis downsi (Dodge & Aitken, 1968) Philornis falsifica (Dodge & Aitken, 1968) Philornis fasciventris (Wulp, 1896) Philornis frontalis Couri, 1984 Philornis fumicosta Dodge, 1968 Philornis gagnei Couri, 1983 Philornis glaucinis Dodge & Aitken, 1968 Philornis grandis Couri, 1984 Philornis insularis Couri, 1983 Philornis isla Couri, 2000 Philornis lopesi Couri, 1983 Philornis masoni Couri, 1986 Philornis mediana Couri, 1984 Philornis mima (Townsend, 1927) Philornis mimicola Dodge, 1968 Philornis molesta Meinert, 1890) Philornis nielseni Dodge, 1968 Philornis nigra Dodge & Aitken, 1968 Philornis obscura (Wulp, 1896) Philornis obscurinervis Couri, 1984 Philornis petersoni Couri, 1984 Philornis porteri Dodge, 1955 Philornis querula Dodge & Aitken, 1968 Philornis rettenmeyeri Dodge, 1963 Philornis ruforscutellaris Couri, 1983 Philornis sabroskyi Albuquerque, 1957 Philornis sanguinis Dodge & Aitken, 1968 Philornis schildi Dodge, 1963 Philornis seguyi García, 1952 Philornis setinervis Dodge, 1963 Philornis sperophila (Townsend, 1895) Philornis torquans (Nielsen, 1913) Philornis trinitensis Dodge & Aitken, 1968 Philornis umanani García, 1952 Philornis univittata Dodge, 1968 Philornis vespidicola Dodge, 1968 Philornis vulgaris Couri, 1984 Philornis zeteki Dodge, 1963
References