Hypoderma tarandi

Hypoderma tarandi, also known as the reindeer warble fly and reindeer botfly,[1] is a species of warble fly that is parasitic on reindeer.[2]

Reindeer warble fly
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Oestridae
Genus: Hypoderma
Species:
H. tarandi
Binomial name
Hypoderma tarandi
Synonyms

Oedemagena tarandi
Oestrus tarandi

A reindeer herd in Kolguyev Island in 1895. The caption reads: "We entered today on a new phase of reindeer life. For the first time the fly appeared (Hypoderma tarandi), known to the Samoyeds as Pi-liur, and to the Russians as Orwot.

The larvae of this fly are a skin-penetrating ectoparasite that usually infest populations of reindeer and caribou in Arctic areas, causing harm to the hides, meat and milk in domesticated herds. They also may cause ophthalmomyiasis in humans,[3] leading to uveitis, glaucoma and retinal detachment.[4] H. lineatum and H. sinense may also infest humans.[4]

As food
See also: Entomophagy

In cold climates supporting reindeer- or caribou-reliant populations, large quantities of Hypoderma tarandi maggots are available to human populations during the butchery of animals.[5]

Hypoderma tarandi larvae were part of the traditional diet of the Nunamiut people.[6] Copious art dating back to the Pleistocene in Europe confirms their consumption in premodern times, as well.[7]

The sixth episode of season one of the television series Beyond Survival entitled "The Inuit - Survivors of the Future" features survival expert Les Stroud and two Inuit guides hunting caribou on the northern coast of Baffin Island near Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada. Upon skinning and butchering of one of the animals, numerous larvae (presumably Hypoderma tarandi, although not explicitly stated) are apparent on the inside of the caribou pelt. Stroud and his two Inuit guides eat (albeit somewhat reluctantly) one larva each, with Stroud commenting that the larva "tastes like milk" and was historically commonly consumed by the Inuit people.[8]

See also

References
  1. Lagacé-Wiens, PR; Dookeran, R; Skinner, S; Leicht, R; Colwell, DD; Galloway, TD (2008). "Human ophthalmomyiasis interna caused by Hypoderma tarandi, Northern Canada". Emerging Infect. Dis. 14 (1): 64–6. doi:10.3201/eid1401.070163. PMC 2600172. PMID 18258079.
  2. Chillcott, in Stone et al., 1965, Catalog of the Diptera of America north of Mexico, p. 1112.
  3. Samuelsson, Fredrik; Nejsum, Peter; Raundrup, Katrine; Vicky Alstrup Hansen, Tina; Moliin Outzen Kapel, Christian (2013). "Warble infestations by Hypoderma tarandi (Diptera; Oestridae) recorded for the first time in West Greenland muskoxen". International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife. 2: 214–216. doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2013.06.001. PMC 3862539. PMID 24533338.
  4. Lagacé-Wiens, P. R.; et al. (2008). "Human ophthalmomyiasis interna caused by Hypoderma tarandi, Northern Canada". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 14 (1): 64–6. doi:10.3201/eid1401.070163. PMC 2600172. PMID 18258079.
  5. Felt, E.P. (1918). "Caribou warble grubs edible". Journal of Economic Entomology. 11: 482.
  6. Eric Loker, Bruce Hofkin et al. Parasitology: A Conceptual Approach. p. 229
  7. Guthrie, Russell Dale (2005). The Nature of Paleolithic Art. University of Chicago Press. pp. 6–. ISBN 978-0-226-31126-5. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  8. "Les Stroud - Beyond Survival: The Inuit - Survivors of the Future". Lesstroud.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2015-11-10.
  • Media related to Hypoderma tarandi at Wikimedia Commons
  • Bj; Nilssen, Arne C.; Wibe, Atle (1996). "The two reindeer parasites, Hypoderma tarandi and Cephenemyia trompe (Oestridae)". Chemoecology. 7: 1–7. doi:10.1007/BF01240631.
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