in a head that came in recently. I had the head hanging to thaw, when thawed I discovered a white grub worm looking creature (3 actually) laying in my shop floor under the cape. They were approx. .25" in dia. and 1" long. When skinning, I found three more in the nasal openings. Not sure what they are or how they got there. Was wondering if they just latched on, had been ingested and crawled back out before digestion? Any answers? Deer came from Southern IL by the way.
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These are Bot Fly larva.The fly lays its eggs in the deer hair, and by the deer licking itsself, transfers the eggs to the digestive system.After hatching, they crawl back out and attach to the throat area and in the nostrils. They don't harm the deer, and the meat is still good to eat.
nearly every deer I get in has those worms. Most the time they are in the nose. I really do not know what they are called and what there purpose is, but I assume they are some sort of parasite the deer have to live with.
I am pretty sure Cur can give you a lot better explanation on those then I just did.
Stinking rain.
Like the others said, what you have discovered are probably the larva of one of the numerous Bot Fly (Hypoderma) species. Normally the larva burrow under the skin of the host animal soon after hatching, and remain encysted at the entry site until ready to pupate. They have a siphon device which remains extended through the skin. There are numerous species of this parasite fly, many of which seek specific hosts. There are rodent bot flies, squirrel bot flies, horse and cattle bot flies, and even a human bot fly - thankfully not in the US of A! Most Bot Fly species can and do cross Familia lines and infect species other than their normal victims.
There have been cases of human Bot Fly infection recorded in the USA, although they are rare. Normally a larva that has lost it's home does not instinctively burrow into another flesh hole. Be careful, in any event, that next zit you find may have a solid core....(Kidding)
Without inspecting and keying the specific larva you discovered, it is a safe guess that they could be Hypodermids, but they might also be one of a species of Gasterophilus larva as well.
It is always a wise practice to keep a few small specimen jars around, along with a supply of 40% C2H5OH solution to place found parasites into for keeping. The specimens can be sent or delivered to universities where staff or students can key them and let you know what you have discovered. Biology students and Fish and Wildlife Divisions want to know what is infecting regional wildlife. by collecting and presenting samples, you can aid sometimes vital research.
Just remember, it ain't what you see crawling that can hurt you (ticks excluded), but a myriad of microscopic zoopathogens dwelling in the creatures you process that can kill ya!.....glove up.
And finally, you can always draw parallel chalk lines on the shop floor, invite friends over and have maggot races while you suck a few beers.
i found three and put the largest in a small specime jar on a saturday afternoon, i filled the jar with rubbing alchol and sealed it up, the next morning it was still alive! i took it to the dnr-bot fly larva. dont worry bout them.