CamoCop

i don't know if this has ever been brought up on here before BUT...a few weeks ago i was standing at one of our wildlife management area check station B.S.'n with the biologist. someone brought in a doe to be checked in. the biologist cut the doe's head off (with permission from the hunter) and placed it in a sink. with the doe's head in the sink, the biologist took a scalpal and started removing tissue from around the brain stem for testing. while watching this, i observed grub like insects moving around in the deer's head. i asked the biologist if this was normal and she said "yes". she said it is common for these "grubs" to live in the deer's head and feed on their living tissue. some of these "grubs" were not small either, 1-2 inches long and as big around as your thumb nail. the biologist did not go into detail on how the "grubs" got into the deer's head or if they ever leave the deer. she just advised that they did not hurt the deer.

while watching these "grubs" feed in the deer's head, i could not help but to think they could feel these "grubs" inside their head moving around and feeding on them. this would drive me insane. anyone else seen these or can further explain how they get there and if they ever leave?

BrentH243

I wonder what kind of grubs are lurching around in our heards? ;-P

CamoCop

i've never disected a deer's head before, so this is the first time i have ever seen anything like it. the biologist didn't seem worried about it so i don't think it's a big deal.

JayDeavor

I guess If I seen "Grubs" running around in a deer head, My question to the biologist is what type of testing he/she is doing and what for...

johnnybravoo77

This is from the Virginia dep. of game and inland fisheries:

I killed a deer last year that had something that looked like small grubs in its head. Is this normal?
Yes. What you found are called nasal bots. They are normal parasites of white-tailed deer that are actually larva (i.e., maggots) from flies in the genus Cephenemyia that live in the retropharyngeal pouches of deer (i.e., pouches in the back of the throat). Adult female flies lay a packet of eggs around the mouth or nose of the deer. When the deer licks the eggs the larvae within the eggs are released and migrate to the nasal passages. In the deer, the larvae molt and mature until they are fully developed, at which time they exit the deer and fall to the ground to pupate. When adult flies emerge, the life cycle is completed. Nasal bots do not occur in domestic animals and pose no threat to humans.

Pretty gross!

CamoCop

that sounds like what i observed. the deer have to feel them squirming around in their neck/head. that would drive me crazy if i was a deer. i'm also wondering how they "fall" out? burrow through the deer's skin?

ShatoDavis

dag nabbit! I didn't need that visual.[:@] Now I'm sure I can feel something borrowing through my nasal passages..... Maybe I need to rub my head in a cedar tree!!!!!!

The Rifleman

When they are ready to come out, the deer sneezes and out they come through the nasal passages.

The holes you see in antlers are also caused by Bot fly larve.

I guess if you were only born with one arm, the other arm wouldn't hurt you.
The same with deer, if you had worms in your nose all your life, you wouldn't even know that they were there. You would just get used to them being there.

They were probably checking for CWD.

Beware_of_Dawg

pretty nasty bugs crawling round &eating your brains all day long... Be tough to sleep.

jeg3455

Easy.........Thats how rumors get started remember they are parasites and they feed off living tissue.