Maggot

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Maggot is the common name of the soft-bodied, legless, worm-like larva of insects of the order Diptera, typically with a reduced head, which may be retracted into the body. The term often is associated with larvae that live on decaying flesh or tissue debris.

Overview

A true fly is any species of insect of the order Diptera. True flies undergo a complete metamorphosis, or complex metamorphosis, in which there are four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The larval phase of development is commonly known as a maggot. Depending on the species, there are generally 3 to 8 larval stages. Many species have larva in which the head is reduced and retracted into the body, with the much reduced head and mouthparts at the pointed end (Kendall 2007).

In the larval stage, the legless maggot generally begins to feed on whatever the egg was laid on, such as decomposing flesh. The maggot gorges itself with food until it is ready to enter the pupal stage, at which point the maggot travels away from the food source to an appropriate, generally moist spot. During the pupal stage, it metamorphosizes into an adult. Maggots tend to be voracious feeders.

Importance of maggots

Maggot therapy used in a small wound.


Long ago, some doctors noticed soldiers that had maggots on their wounds healed quicker than those without maggots. Maggots eat dead skin cells and bacteria. Maggot Therapy (also known as Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT), larval therapy, larva therapy, or larvae therapy) is the intentional introduction of live, disinfected maggots or fly larvae into non-healing skin or soft tissue wounds of a human or other animal. This practice was widely used before the discovery of antibiotics, as it serves to clean the dead tissue within a wound in order to promote healing.

Some types of maggots found on corpses can be of great use to forensic scientists. By their stage of development (instar), these maggots can be used to give an indication of the time elapsed since death, as well as the place the organism died.

Maggots are bred commercially, as a popular bait in fishing, and a food for carnivorous pets such as reptiles or birds. Maggots have been used in food production, particularly cheese.

On the other hand, diverse maggots cause damage in agricultural crop production, including root maggots in rapeseed and midge maggots in wheat. Some maggots are leaf miners.

Maggots can also be a threat to household pets. Flies reproduce rapidly in the summer months and maggots can come in large numbers, creating a maggot infestation and a high risk of myiasis (invasion of living tissues) in pets. Despite the fact that maggots only eat dead tissue, they can be painful and present a serious risk to pets or any other animals. Humans are not immune to the feeding habits of maggots and can also contract myiasis. Interaction between humans and maggots usually occurs near garbage cans, dead animals, rotten food, and other breeding grounds for maggots. Maggots will look for dark moist areas and are commonly found in unclean places such as under bed sheets.

A major problem also arises when maggots turn into flies and start the life cycle over again. Within a few generations the number of maggots exponentially grows and becomes a serious problem. Professionals can remove maggots or many over the counter bug sprays can be used to deter flies and maggots. Keeping trash in a sealed container and using a garbage disposal or freezing rotting leftovers until trash day help prevent infestation.


Maggot therapy

Maggot therapy used in a small wound

Certain live maggots have been employed since antiquity as an economical, safe and effective type of wound debridement (cleaning). In controlled and sterile settings by licensed medical practitioners, maggot therapy introduces live, disinfected maggots into non-healing skin or soft wounds of a human or other animal. They eat the dead tissue, leaving the live tissue alone, while excreting powerful antibiotics to which bacteria have not yet developed tolerance. As of 2008, maggot therapy was being used in around 1000 medical centres in Europe and over 800 medical centers in the United States. [1]

Problems

As with fleas and ticks, maggots can be a threat to household pets and livestock, especially sheep. Flies reproduce rapidly in the summer months and maggots can come in large numbers, creating a maggot infestation and a high risk of myiasis in sheep and other animals. Humans are not immune to the feeding habits of maggots and can also contract myiasis. Interaction between humans and maggots usually occurs near garbage cans, dead animals, rotten food, and other breeding grounds for maggots. It may take 8–20 hours for maggots to grow.

A major problem also arises when maggots turn into flies and start the life cycle over again. Within a few generations the number of maggots grows exponentially and becomes a serious problem. Professionals can remove maggots or many over-the-counter bug sprays can be used to deter flies and maggots. Keeping trash in a sealed container and using a garbage disposal or freezing rotting leftovers until rubbish collection day helps prevent infestation.

Parasitic Maggots

While gigantic maggots only eat necrotic tissue in living animals and are thus arguably symbiotic, certain types of maggots are parasitic, such as Botfly larvae. These larvae spend part of their life cycle as parasites under the skin of living animals. As a result myiasis can occur in the host causing symptoms from sores and irritating lesions to death. This is particularly a problem in warm and damp climates where flies multiply more rapidly.

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