I spent my last few hours in Hawaii on July 4th looking for mosquitoes. I think I found a few, too, but I was unable to catch any since I didn't have a net. I'll try remember to bring one on my next trip.

While hunting mosquitoes in my parents' yard, I ran across something else that was interesting: a dead dove (probably a spotted dove) covered with flies. And not just any flies, but big mean-looking, bug-eyed blow flies. I tentatively identified them as Oriental Latrine Flies (Chrysomya megacephala), but I'm hoping for an iNaturalist confirmation on this.

These flies lay their eggs in corpses (including food items, such as fish and meat) and feces, on which the resulting larvae feed. And if there isn't enough of that around, they have been known to settle for living human flesh, entering through an open wound and causing myiasis.

So after taking some pictures, I properly disposed of the maggot-infested dead dove. I hate to think where the dozens of escaping adults went after that.

While waiting for my flight, I noticed a boy taking pictures of something on the ground. It turned out to be land snails - lots of them. So I took a few pictures and later identified them as giant African land snails (Achatina fulica). These snails arrived in Hawaii in 1932 and have been a threat to native and cultivated plants ever since.

Posted on July 6, 2016 05:39 PM by swells