Cochliomyia hominivorax, the New World screw-worm fly, or screw-worm for short, is a species of parasitic fly that is famous for the way in which its larvae (maggots) eat the living tissue of warm-blooded animals. It is present in almost all tropical countries except Australia. There are two species of screw-worm fly: Old World (Chrysomya bezziana) and New World. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Animals are a major group of organisms, classified as the kingdom Animalia or Meta­zoa. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... Classes & Orders See taxonomy Insects are invertebrate animals of the Class Insecta, the largest and (on land) most widely-distributed taxon within the phylum Arthropoda. ... The Mediterranean fruit fly, or medfly, Ceratitis capitata Dance fly male Empis tesselata The flesh fly, Sarcophaga carnaria As defined by entomologists, a fly (plural flies) is any species of insect of the order Diptera. ... Subfamilies Calliphorinae Chrysomyiinae The Blowflies are members of the family Calliphoridae of flies (Diptera). ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Charles Coquerel (1822–1867) was a French navy surgeon and entomologist. ... A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it. ... The Mediterranean fruit fly, or medfly, Ceratitis capitata Dance fly male Empis tesselata The flesh fly, Sarcophaga carnaria As defined by entomologists, a fly (plural flies) is any species of insect of the order Diptera. ... A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... A warm-blooded (homeothermic) animal is one that can keep its core body temperature at a nearly constant level regardless of the temperature of the surrounding environment (that is, to maintain thermal homeostasis) . This can involve not only the ability to generate heat, but also the ability to cool down... Phyla Animals are a major group of organisms, classified as the kingdom Animalia or Meta­zoa. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... Wiktionary has related dictionary definitions, such as: country In political geography and international politics a country is a geographical territory. ...

Life cycle

Screw-worm females lay between 250 and 400 eggs in the exposed flesh of warm-blooded animals, including humans, such as in wounds and the navels of newly-born animals. The larvae hatch and burrow into the surrounding tissue as they feed. If the wound is disturbed during this time, the larvae burrow or "screw" deeper into the flesh, which is the source of the insect's name. The maggots are capable of causing severe tissue damage or even death to the host. Approximately three to seven days after hatching, the larvae fall to the ground to pupate. The pupae reach the adult stage about seven days later, and female screw-worm flies mate four to five days after hatching. The entire life cycle is approximately twenty days. A female can lay up to 3,000 eggs and fly up to 200 km (125 miles) during her life. An average Whooping Crane egg is 102 mm long, and weighs 208 grams In some animals, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... Superficial bullet wounds A wound is type of physical trauma wherein the skin is torn, cut or punctured (an open wound), or where blunt force trauma causes a contusion (a closed wound). ... For the plant genus of this name, see Umbilicus (genus). ... Death is the cessation of life. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... A mile is any of a number of units of distance, each in the magnitude of 1–10 km. ...

Control

Using the sterile insect technique, the United States officially eradicated the screw-worm in 1982. The same happened in Guatemala and Belize in 1994, El Salvador in 1995, and Honduras in 1996. There are on-going campaigns happening against the flies in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Jamaica, all with financial assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture. El Salvador successfully demonstrated the sterile insect technique eliminating the malaria causing mosquito, from a region for a period of time. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ...

References

• John Curran, Veterinary Officer, Broome (2002). Screw-Worm Fly. (pdf) Government of Western Australia: Department of Agriculture Farmnotes. Retrieved on May 06, 2006.
• California Department of Food and Agriculture Animal Health Branch (01-2000). Fact Sheet: Screwworm. (pdf) Retrieved on May 06, 2006.