Parasite coming out of house fly?

[Kat66]

I noticed a dying/distressed fly on my windowsill and went to pick him up to put him outside but noticed a little worm coming out of it's abdomen. I'm not very educated on flies but I know they lay eggs so surely it couldn't be a larvae? It also looked very distressed and in pain, buzzing around and freaking out. I ended up flushing him down the toilet to at least try and give him a quick death but I was wondering what kind of parasite this could be? video below

 

[Bunyan van Asten]

Yeah i had something like that once too, but it wasn't a parasite, i dunno what it actually was but yeah...

 

[schmiggle]

Probably either a nematomorph or a mermithid, two groups of parasitic worms. I'm jealous--I've wanted to find one for a long time.

 

[Bunyan van Asten]

Probably either a nematomorph or a mermithid, two groups of parasitic worms. I'm jealous--I've wanted to find one for a long time.

why did you want to find one...?

 

[schmiggle]

why did you want to find one...?

Because they're absolutely amazing animals? I don't think anyone who keeps pet arthropods (i.e., nearly everyone on this forum) has a moral high ground over someone who wants to find any organism. I wouldn't want one in my pets, but I'd be thrilled to see one in the wild.

 

[Bunyan van Asten]

Because they're absolutely amazing animals? I don't think anyone who keeps pet arthropods (i.e., nearly everyone on this forum) has a moral high ground over someone who wants to find any organism. I wouldn't want one in my pets, but I'd be thrilled to see one in the wild.

I wasn't implying i had any moral highground over anybody, but i was just interested, but if you saw one in the wild, what would you do?

 

[schmiggle]

I wasn't implying i had any moral highground over anybody, but i was just interested, but if you saw one in the wild, what would you do?

Let it be, probably. I might try to grab the bug so that the worm would emerge into somewhere I could watch it (a cup or something). But after that I would let it go.

Sorry for assuming.

 

[Galapoheros]

That's part of the fly. Some give live birth but it could be the egg laying organ.

 

[schmiggle]

That's part of the fly. Some give live birth but it could be the egg laying organ.

That definitely looks like it could be an ovipositor, now that you mention it, which would make more sense than a parasitic worm given the flies behavior. I wonder why the fly would be extending it like that, though?

 

[Galapoheros]

Death throes, things go a little crazy while kicking the bucket.

 

[The Snark]

Don't know what that thing is. But, the various flies are by far the #1 vector for parasites without a close second. There are numerous parasites that rely on flies during their life cycle.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Yeah, that's the fly's ovipositor.

Note that some types of flies do give live birth to small maggots, such as flesh flies (Sarcophagidae).

 

[schmiggle]

Note that some types of flies do give live birth to small maggots, such as flesh flies (Sarcophagidae)

But that process still involves an ovipositor, right?

 

[arachnoherp]

But that process still involves an ovipositor, right?

Well in tsetse flies found in africa they hold the larvae inside the parent fly full term feeding it in a secretion inside its womb and then give birth to a lqrvae ready to pupate upon birth.