I've been made more personally aware of the disgusting side of the "Wild Kingdom" in the last few days. I am in a cabin in the woods on an island in Georgian Bay, part of the Great Lakes in North America. I'm here alone, writing, with my two dogs for company.
It turns out, North America has its own version of the Bot Fly, the
Cuterebra. This fly parasitizes rodents by laying eggs in the environment around rodent burrows in late summer/early fall. that is to say, now.
When in contact with a host, the body heat activates the larva in the egg, it crawls to an opening in the host, and burrows its way to the skin, usually the torso or head/neck. There it cuts a little airhole, feeds on the host for about 3 weeks, growing prodigiously, and crawls out the hole, falls to the ground and pupates till next summer.
The part that bugs me (sorry) is that these little guys are not too particular about what or who is the host. Non-typical hosts can be human, but are usually cats and dogs, that snuffle around rodent burrows. Enter my dogs, who have been having a field day all spring and summer, chasing the chipmunks that overrun this forest on an island with few predators. The little rodents are everywhere!
Last few days I've been running back and forth to the mainland and back with my one dog, getting one little fucking larva after another excised from her flesh. And you have to be careful, because damaging the larva inside the host not only can lead to infection, but the enzymes inside the larva can cause anaphylactic shock. Shades of
Alien. I've started a gallery of vials with preserved larvae on the bookshelf in the living room of the cabin. Check
here for some info and photos. Yes, I am
now limiting access to the deep forest until the first good frost comes.
What connects this all to Shadowrun is the mixture of wonder at the weirdness and the feeling of violation that comes from such an infestation. Imagine what it must feel like before the insect spirit makes that final roll to take over. Alternatively, what would it be like to have an Awakened version of these suckers?
EDIT: One species of
Cuterebra is
emasculator, because it was once thought to ... well... you know.