[GoodOlBoy]

Found this article today as I was surfin' the 'net.

Expert:Ben G.
Date:7/7/2004
Subject:Squirrel's

Question
Hi Ben- last season I bagged a squirrel with some kind of a larva in it's coat. It came off with the skin so I guess there was no harm done. An old hunter told me that he always waited until after the first frost before Squirrel hunting because of these things. Any ideas what they are- or if it makes any sense to wait for the first frost? I hunt in North-central Kentucky. Thanks!

Answer
Hello Corey. What you found was a "warble," or the larvae of a Bot fly. They are relatively common in squirrels during the late summer/early fall when squirrel hunting season is open in most places, and they are not harmful to humans.

Squirrels and other rodents are the primary carriers of warbles but rabbits can carry them too, as well as cattle and they have even been known to sometimes infect children. What happens is during the summer months, the female bot fly will lay her eggs near or inside the den of a squirrel or other carrier. The carrier will come into contact with the eggs and have them in its fur. After the carrier grooms itself, its body heat coupled with the moisture causes the egg to hatch. The larvae then penatrate's the carrier and buries itself just under the skin, cuts a "breathing hole" and continues to grow.

Warbles usually look like a boil on the squirrel. They are pretty disgusting but they are not harmful to humans. Just the same, I usually throw away any squirrels that I find have the warbles. Most of the squirrels I have found only have one or two warbles at most, but it is possible for them to be infested pretty bad.

The reason some people wait until after the first frost to hunt them is that by that time, the warbles have dropped out of the squirrel and buried themselves into the ground, where they pupitate until the following spring, when the bot fly emerges and the process repeats itself. Once the warble exits the squirrel, the squirrel will recover with no last affects.

Personally, I don't wait until after the first frost because by then, the best squirrel hunting is over. And although I have done little hunting in Central Kentucky, I do hunt squirrels quite often in upper central Tennessee along the KY border and have found the warbles to exist in no more than around 10 percent of all squirrels I kill.

By the way, you'll also hear these warbles called "wolves" by many hunters.

I hope that answers your question. If I can be of any other help to you, just holler.

Good hunting, and have a good weekend,

Ben Garrett

Hope it helps a bit more.

GoodOlBoy