Human Botfly (Dermatobia hominis)

The human botfly never eats. Its mouthparts don't work, and the adult lives for about a week on fat banked during its larval stage. What it does with that week is the remarkable part.

A female Dermatobia hominis catches a mosquito in mid-air, glues 15 to 30 eggs to its abdomen, and releases it unharmed. When the mosquito later lands on something warm-blooded - a monkey, a cow, occasionally a person - the heat of the skin triggers the eggs to hatch on the spot. The larvae burrow in head-first and settle down for five to twelve weeks, breathing through a pair of spiracles held at the skin's surface, before backing out and dropping to the ground to pupate in the soil. Entomologists call the delivery method phoresy. The mosquito takes the risk; the botfly takes the real estate.

It is the only botfly that makes a habit of using humans, which has earned a 12-18 mm fly an outsized reputation. Away from its hosts it is a stout, bee-like insect of humid lowland forest, found from southern Mexico to northern Argentina.

A vector illustration of the human botfly in dorsal view, drawn for the Bugs series of insect art prints.

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.

Full delivery information →

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.

Full returns policy →