Got Bots?

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by Les Sellnow
Oct 10, 2017

Bots are pesky creatures, capable of causing irritation and physical damage to horses. They aren't categorized as being the worst of internal parasites, but they can cause problems externally and internally.

The external aspect is primarily one of irritation to the horse. The botfly is about the size of a honeybee, and its prime purpose in life is to lay eggs on the hairs of equine legs, necks, faces, and other parts of the anatomy.

And although we will talk later about "deworming" as a weapon against these parasites, they are not really worms, such as ascarids and strongyles. Instead they are flies, and like other flies their life cycle involves four distinct stages—egg, larva, pupa, and adult fly.

As is the case with other parasites, bots need a host to carry out their life cycle. They are specialists, in that they only attack horses, mules, and donkeys—perhaps zebras as well—and do not seek to use cattle or other livestock as hosts.

When attacking equids, the botfly is a pest supreme. Botflies generally lay only one egg at a time, but depending on the species, one female is capable of depositing 150 to 500 eggs...

Read more here:
http://www.thehorse.com/articles/19459/got-bots?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=health-news&utm_campaign=10-17-2017