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You think you\u2019ve seen it all as a hunter. Gut-shot messes, engorged-tick infestations, predator-shredded carcasses. You\u2019ve been elbows-deep in a chest cavity, severing a windpipe while pink foam oozes out. No part of the hunting experience, no matter how cringe-worthy, hits your stomach anymore. Then, a fat, white nasal botfly larva wriggles out of your deer\u2019s nose. It drops to the ground and crawls away with every ounce of pride you had in your iron stomach. Another one emerges. Suddenly, you think you might need to sit down. Right now.<\/p>\n
\nIf this series of misfortunate events sounds familiar, it\u2019s because nasal botfly larvae are quite common in whitetail deer. Like all parasites<\/a>, nasal botflies rely on a host to complete part of its lifecycle\u2014in this case, mammals with large nostrils, like ungulates. <\/p>\n Hunting-lifestyle brand HUSH posted a video to its Instagram account<\/a> Thursday that shows a nasal botfly larvae crawling out the rear end of a severed nasal passage on a whitetail buck. The other nasal passage is still intact, but something is clearly moving under the membrane. This is gross to be sure. But are those little wriggling larvae a problem?<\/p>\n If a bug this size fell out of your nose, you\u2019d probably run for the nearest doctor\u2019s office. But nasal botfly larvae are actually fairly common in deer and don\u2019t have any impact on its venison: the meat is still safe to eat. They don\u2019t even affect the deer\u2019s health all that much, although they\u2019re probably uncomfortable and can cause some nasal blockage and difficulty breathing. In rare occurrences, animals can suffocate<\/a> if the larvae don\u2019t dislodge themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cBotflies are a pretty common species found across the United States, as far north as southern parts of Canada,\u201d says Matt Ross, the conservation director of the National Deer Association Matt Ross. \u201cThe species relies on animals for repopulating themselves. It\u2019s not uncommon to find larvae from botflies inside deer, because it\u2019s how they reproduce. Although, it probably doesn\u2019t feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n Female nasal botflies fly inside a deer\u2019s nostrils and deposit an egg sack, Ross explains. Those eggs eventually hatch with, ironically, the help of the deer, which licks its nostrils while trying to root out the irritant. The freshly-hatched larvae crawl into the nasal cavity and live there, growing bigger over time. When they\u2019re ready, they crawl back out of the deer\u2019s nose or mouth. They then continue their life cycle on the ground. They\u2019ll mature into full-grown botflies, and the females will eventually find deer of their own to host their eggs.<\/p>\n Since botflies never enter the deer\u2019s blood stream, they really have no way of impacting the meat. And unless you see them fall out or sever the head near the nasal cavities for a euro mount, the odds of you noticing them are pretty low. Maybe it\u2019s better that way. At least, take some comfort in knowing deer hate them more than you do.<\/p>\n \u201cIn research facilities, when deer are being studied in a university setting, even the sound of the insect freaks deer out and they\u2019ll run away from it,\u201d Ross says. \u201cA deer in one facility ran into a fence trying to get away from a botfly because it was trying to not be interacted with.\u201d<\/p>\nAre Nasal Botfly Larvae Harmful to Deer?<\/h2>\n