Auchmeromyia senegalensis, known as the Congo floor maggot, is a species of blow-fly

Blow-fly

Calliphoridae are insects in the Order Diptera, family Calliphoridae...

 that is native to sub Saharan Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and the Cape Verde Islands.

A .sengalensis is an atypical myiasis

Myiasis

Myiasis is a general term for infection by parasitic fly larvae feeding on the host's necrotic or living tissue. Colloquialisms for myiasis include flystrike, blowfly strike, and fly-blown. In Greek, "myia" means fly....

 species which does not live on or in the host, but sucks the blood of burrow-dwelling wild pigs, warthog

Warthog

The Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grassland, savanna, and woodland in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P...

s, aardvark

Aardvark

The aardvark is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa...

, hyena

Hyena

Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...

 and occasionally sleeping humans (sanguinivorous myiasis). Auchmeromyia is the only known genus of blood sucking maggot to feed on mammals although others feed on birds. There are five described species in the genus.

Female flies lay their eggs on dry earth or the earthen floors of huts.Larvae feed for about twenty minutes, sometimes daily, and then fall to the ground. There are three larval instars

Instar

An instar is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each molt , until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or assume a new form. Differences between instars can often be seen in altered body proportions, colors, patterns, or...

 and pupa

Pupa

A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...

tion lasts two weeks. The entire life cycle takes ten weeks and is continuous throughout the year. Fully grown maggots are 18 mm long. Male flies have an exceptionally long second segment and widely separated eyes.

Whilst causing irritation and swelling Congo floor maggots are not known to transmit disease. Bites are easily avoided by providing beds.