Cottontail Question

[Tony Stevenson]

I have heard in the past that you can't eat rabbits til after the first hard freeze to get rid of the worms, well, i live in west texas and all the rabbits i have killed had a grub looking worm right under the skin around the stomach area even after a couple good hard 18 degree freezes. any idea what it is and is it safe to eat the rabbit?

 

[Yellowhammer]

The "grub" that you are seeing is actually a bot fly larvae. These are typically found during the warmer months, but can also persist into cooler months. The cold weather reduces the number of flies, but if the eggs were layed and the larvae bore into the skin before the colder weather, it is unlikely to get rid of them. The common saying is to only eat rabbits in months that have an R in it. While the bots are unsightly, they pose no risk to human health, and other than the immediate wound area to not harm the meat.

Bot fly larvae are also commonly found in deer during deer season, usually in the mouth, throat,or nasal cavities.

http://entomology.unl.edu/images/botflies/botflies.htm

http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/dxendopar/parasitepages/unknown/cutebra.html

http://www.bright.net/~bryanvet/Cuterebra.htm

 

[Tony Stevenson]

Thanks Yellowhammer!

 

[River Runner]

eechk! Ok, you just ruined my appetite for fried yard cat.

 

[kyray]

Yellowhammer, are those nasty lookin critters the same thing we call wolves, which we often find in the neck of squirrles in the fall? kyray.