human botfly
- noun
- /ˈhjuːmən ˈbɒtˌflaɪ/
- US
:
mosca de los botflies humanos
- The human botfly is known for its painful larvae.
Examples
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Doctors removed a human botfly larva from the patient's arm after their return from the rainforest.
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The human botfly is notorious for laying its eggs on the skin of mammals.
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Travelers to parts of Central and South America are warned about the risks of human botfly infestation.
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Have you ever heard of the human botfly?
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The human botfly lays its eggs in the skin of mammals, causing painful infections.
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While hiking in the rainforest, we learned about the dangers of the human botfly and its parasitic larvae.
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He had to see a doctor after discovering a human botfly larva embedded in his arm.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A large hairy fly whose larvae grow under the skin of mammals and cause pain
A large tropical fly whose young grow under the skin of people and animals
A large fly whose young live under the skin of mammals such as humans and cattle
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'human' (pertaining to people) modifies 'botfly' (a fly whose larvae infest mammals), yielding a botfly that parasitizes humans. This attributive modifier + noun pattern is common and readily interpretable by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Human botfly is named for what it does: the botfly lays eggs on a human, and the young insects hatch and grow under the skin. So, the name means a fly whose 'young live inside people'.