Human botfly (Dermatobia hominis)

The Human Botfly (Dermatobia hominis) is one of those creatures that makes you grateful most parasites are too small to think about. Native to Central and South America, it doesn't lay its eggs on its host directly - instead, it hijacks mosquitoes and other biting flies, gluing its eggs to their bodies so they hatch on contact with warm skin.

The Human Botfly is found in tropical Central and South America, from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. Rather than approaching its host directly, the female captures a blood-feeding insect - typically a mosquito or tick - and attaches her eggs to its body. When this unwitting carrier lands on a warm-blooded host, the eggs hatch and the larvae burrow into the skin, where they develop over several weeks in a breathing hole maintained just below the surface. The resulting lump is uncomfortable but rarely dangerous, and the larvae eventually emerge, drop to the ground, and pupate in the soil.

This strategy - known as phoresy - is an extraordinary example of evolved indirection. By outsourcing the risky task of host contact to another insect, the Botfly avoids the defensive behaviours (swatting, grooming) that make direct egg-laying hazardous. It is parasitism with a middleman, and it works with disquieting efficiency. For all its unpleasantness from a human perspective, the Botfly's life cycle is one of the most ingenious solutions to a biological problem in the entire insect world.

Bugs is a collection of natural history illustration prints drawn from the insect world - beetles, flies, bugs, butterflies, and moths selected for the strangeness, beauty, and variety of their forms.

Each illustration is adapted from Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion in 2017 and subsequently published in French and Chinese. The series draws on the tradition of scientific natural history illustration - precise, considered, and attentive to the details that make each species distinctive.

Insects account for the majority of all known animal species on Earth. This collection is a small survey of what that diversity looks like.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in

XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

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Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

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