Myiasis infection by the toad fly (Lucilia bufonivora; Calliphoidae) in amphibians in Montana, USA

Journal of Wildlife Diseases
By:  and 

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Abstract

Toad flies in the genus Lucilia (previously referred to as Bufolucilia spp.) parasitize and cause myiasis in several amphibian species in North America. From 2019 to 2022, we documented Lucilia bufonivora infections in post-metamorphic western toads (Anaxyrus boreas) during amphibian surveys in four wetlands in Glacier National Park, Montana, US. We found nine infected adult toads in 2019, seven infected adults in 2020, one infected juvenile in 2021, and five infected adults plus one infected juvenile in 2022. We also captured Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) during these same surveys but detected no infections. Only one of the four wetlands had infected toads in 2019, despite their proximity and hydrologic connectivity, but two of these wetlands had infections in 2020, and a third had a single infection in 2021. The same three of four wetlands had infections in 2022. In 2008, a similar parasitic infection in one western toad had been noted at the same wetland as in 2019. That toad had been captured again two years later without signs of infection.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Myiasis infection by the toad fly (Lucilia bufonivora; Calliphoidae) in amphibians in Montana, USA
Series title Journal of Wildlife Diseases
DOI 10.7589/JWD-D-24-00066
Volume 61
Issue 1
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher Wildlife Disease Association
Contributing office(s) Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
Description 6 p.
First page 206
Last page 2011
Country United States
State Montana
Other Geospatial Glacier National Park
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