Cordylobia rodhaini
| Cordylobia rodhaini | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Calliphoridae |
| Tribe: | Calliphorini |
| Genus: |
Cordylobia Gruenberg, 1903 |
| Type species | |
|
Cordylobia rodhaini |
|
Cordylobia rodhaini also known as the Lund's fly derived its common name from captain Lund, who was the first European to show symptoms of the disease caused by the larvae of the same fly. The Lund’s fly belongs to the genus Cordylobia, a group of flies from the family Calliphoridae. The currently known species comprising the genus Cordylobia include: C. anthropophaga, C. ebadiana, C. praegrandis, C. rodhaini and C. ruandae. The larvae of the Lund’s fly are parasites of thinned-skinned mammals, especially the Gambian rat, mona monkey and small antelopes and are only accidental parasites of humans. The adult flies feeds on rotting fruits, vegetables and animal feces, and are most abundant in the wet season. Like many tropical insects they are most active in the dark periods and have the greatest activity early in the morning and late in the evening while resting typically between 8am to 5pm. The Lund’s fly are largely confined to tropical Africa, especially the rainforest areas in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, as a result of human migration, the parasitic infections they cause have been recorded in other continents including Europe and Asia.
The life cycle of the Lund's fly, typically lasts from 55 to 67 days. The female fly lays up to 500 eggs and deposits her eggs on dry sand polluted with the excrement of animals, or can also lay them on damp human clothing. In about three days, the larva attached to its host, is then activated by the warm body of the host. The Lund’s fly larvae then hatches and breaks through the skin. A maturing larva induces a painful swelling. In approximately 12 to 15 days, the larva reaches a length of about 23 mm, exits the skin of the host, and falls to the ground to pupate. The adult fly emerges in 23 to 26 days, and the life cycle continues.
The Lund’s fly is parasitic at its larval stage. Under examination with a scanning electron microscope, it appears whitish and barrel-shaped, with 11 segments. Its body is almost completely covered by large conic-shaped spines. These spines serve as a point of attachment to its host. The larvae have a brown apex, pointing towards the posterior end where there are fewer spines. There exist two bulges in the anterior end with paired mouth hooks at the anterior end of the larvae. After hatching, the larvae penetrates into the dermis and molts to second and third instar larvae before emerging from the skin. The third instar larvae has an approximate length of 1.5 cm and is distinctively less elongated and conical in shape, compared to the second instar larvae
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Wikipedia