American subcutaneous gadfly

Medium and large (up to 30 mm) stocky flies, similar to carrion flies or bumblebees ^[2] . Arista naked or feathery ( Cuterebra ). The abdomen is metallic shiny blue ( Dermatobia hominis ) or shiny black ^[4] .

Larvae of all species parasitize under the skin of mammals. The hosts of the genus Cuterebra are possums ^[5] , mouse-like and protein -like rodents, as well as hare-like genera Ochotona , Lepus and Sylvilagus ^[2] . Cuterebra baeri larvae infect howler monkeys ^[6] . Cases of Cuterebra parasitism in humans are known , but larval development stops in the later stages. The species Dermatobia hominis parasitizes humans, wild and domestic animals, including birds ( toucans and turkeys ). For the genera Andinocuterebra , Metacuterebra, and Pseudogametes, the hosts are not known ^[2] . Eggs are laid by Cuterebra in the hosts' habitats. A unique way of spreading eggs is characteristic of Dermatobia hominis. In most cases, they lay their eggs on blood-sucking mosquitoes , midges or flies of the families Anthomyiidae , Calliphoridae , Fanniidae , Muscidae , Sarcophagidae , and Tabanidae , and they in turn transfer eggs to vertebrate hosts ^[7] . Under normal conditions, Cuterebra larvae from eggs appear after 7-10 days. However, under adverse conditions, egg development slows down. In some species, they remain viable for 6-10 months. An incentive for hatching eggs is an increase in temperature from the host body. The larvae either migrate under the skin for some time ( Cuterebra ) or remain at the site of penetration ( Dermatobia hominis) . The larval development period is from 19 ( Cuterebra fontinella ) to 72 days ( Cuterebra rufricrus ). Adults usually go out in the morning. The sex ratio of ejected flies is usually 1: 1, but for the species Cuterebra approximata , the predominance of males over females is 2: 1. For males, cluster formation and territorial behavior were noted. Cuterebra females lay eggs in heaps of 5-15 pieces and can collectively lay from 1,000 to 3,000 eggs. Fertility of Dermatobia hominis is from 800 to 1000 . Eggs develop 4–9 ​​days ^[2] . Life expectancy of females Cuterebra jellisoni 10 days, in males - 5 days ^[8]

There are 83 known species from 6 genera ^{[2] [4]} :

Tribe Cuterebrini

• Andinocuterebra Guimarães, 1984 - 1 view
• Cuterebra Clark, 1815 - 72 species
• Rogenhofera Brauer, 1863 - 6 species

Tribe Dermatobiini

• Dermatobia Brauer, 1861 - 1 view

Tribe Pseudogametini

• Metacuterebra Brau, 1929 - 1 view
• Pseudogametes Bischof, 1900 - 2 species

The karyotype in the studied species ( Cuterebra emasculator and Dermatobia hominis) consists of six pairs of chromosomes ^{[9] [10]} .

The fossil remains of the larvae of three species of gadflies of the genera Cuterebra and Dermatobia were found in the Eocene sediments in the state of Colorado ( USA ) with an age of 50.3 million years ^[11] .

• Kuterebros
• Dermatobiasis