Watch out for those flies!

A fly landing in the ear of a tourist visiting Peru turns out to be more than just annoying. The screwworm fly had sufficient time to lay eggs that hatched flesh-eating maggots in her ear canal.

Warning: the video may be disturbing to some viewers

As strange as this sounds, it is not that uncommon

Fortunately the screwworm fly has been effectively eradicated in the United States since the 1960's by releasing sterile male flies resulting in fewer and fewer offspring. This work was conducted by the USDA as you can imagine how this fly would decimate livestock.

More like this

Some maggots have gotten good press lately because of their helpful ability to clean out wounds by consuming dead tissue. Screwworms however; also known as Cochliomyia hominivorax, will never be welcomed in an operating room or anywhere else. USDA Agricultural Research Service These are the…
Mosquitoes carry a lot of parasites, many of which are global health concerns. Mosquito vectored diseases include protozoan diseases like malaria, filarial diseases, and viruses like dengue fever, encephalitis, West Nile and yellow fever. Perhaps the least-concerning creature you can get from a…
The insects scandalously embracing in this picture are decorated crickets (Grylllodes sigillatus), which can be found in the southwestern United States, among other places. The droplet on the male's tail is--for want of a better word--a gift. After producing this glob he sticks it onto the package…
The trailer for Shaun of the Dead.Not all zombies are created equal. The most popular zombie archetype is a shambling, brain-eating member of the recently deceased, but, in recent films from 28 Days Later to Zombieland, the definition of what a zombie is or isn't has become more complicated. Does…