where do bot flies live

Bot flies live almost everywhere their animal hosts do, but the exact locations depend on the species.

Main regions they live

• Many bot fly species (for rodents, rabbits, deer, horses, sheep, cattle, etc.) occur across North America , especially in temperate and forested areas where their hosts are common.

• Human bot flies (Dermatobia hominis), the species most people worry about, are found from southern Mexico through Central America into parts of South America, down to northern Chile, Paraguay, and northern Argentina.

• Some species extend into parts of Canada (for example, mouse bot flies recorded in provinces like Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Manitoba).

Typical habitats

• Bot flies cluster wherever their preferred hosts are:
  • Rodent and rabbit bot flies near forest edges and burrows.

* Horse bot flies around pastures, stables, and areas where horses, mules, or donkeys graze.

* Deer bot flies in habitats with deer and elk, including woodlands and fields.

• Adults are short‑lived and often stay near host trails, burrows, or high points in the landscape, while larvae live inside the host’s skin, nose, or digestive tract until ready to drop to the soil and pupate.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.