Morphobiological characterization of Oestrus ovis

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to identify and characterize morphological features of Oestrus ovis in Telangana. Oestrus ovis is the most predominant nasal bot fly causing nasal myiasis in India. The Oestrus ovis third instar. larvae were reared in the laboratory in a cage and the adult fly emerged within 28 days. The larvae collected from Jiyaguda slaughter house, Hyderabad were separated into L2 and L3 larvae and washed with normal saline and PBS PH 7.4 and were preserved in 70 % ethanol for identification. The larvae were speciated by light microscopic examination based on morphological features such as ventral spines, anterior hooks and “D” shaped posterior spiracles. Notably, L2 larvae were smaller, averaging 1.38±0.17 cm in length, while L3 larvae measured 2.28±0.15 cm. Various measurements, such as spiracle diameters and hook dimensions, exhibited discernible changes between the larval stages, providing insights into their developmental characteristics.