Entomologist and renowned photographer Piotr Naskrecki is not one to shy away from insects, but his latest photographic venture surprised even us: letting parasitic bot fly larvae grow under his skin! If you're particularly squeamish ... you might want to try something else.
Naskrecki noticed the subdermal squatters last summer when several of his travel-earned mosquito bites weren't healing properly. After removing the first larvae, the scientist decided to allow the remaining two to mature under his skin. "I had never seen an adult bot fly," he says. "Plus, as a male ... this was my only chance to produce another living, breathing being from my body!"
He even taped plastic containers to his arms to avoid losing the precious larvae during the last stages of their development. "Other than minor discomfort, it was really not a big deal," he adds. You be the judge:
Top header image: Video screengrab/Piotr Naskrecki
Human Impact
WTF!?
In The Field
