Infestation by Auchmeromyia senegalensis as a conseuence of the adoption of non-nomadic life by Pygmies in the Congo Republic

Abstract

The Congo floor maggot is the blood-sucking larva of the fly Auchmeromyia senegalensis (Diptera: Calliphoridae) which is specific to sub-Saharan Africa (Dutton et al., 1904). The original specific name given to the fly, A. luteola, has recently been corrected to A. senegalensis as used by Macquart in 1851 (Pont, 1980). The ecology and biology of this insect have been extremely well documented by Roubaud (1914) and Garret-Jones (1950). The flies are usually found in the immediate vicinity of, or inside, human dwellings. The females lay their eggs on the sandy floor, and after hatching the larvae bury themselves into the ground and come out at night for a blood meal. A. senegalensis was initially considered to be specific to man (Garret-Jones, 1950), but it was later discovered in the entrances to burrows of antbears and warthogs, and also associated with the domestic pig …