Cephenemyia trompe

Handeland, Kjell, Tunheim, Ketil, Madslien, Knut, Vikøren, Turid, Viljugrein, Hildegunn, Mossing, Anders, Børve, Ivar, Strand, Olav & Hamnes, Inger Sofie, 2021, High winter loads of Oestrid larvae and Elaphostrongylus rangiferi are associated with emaciation in wild reindeer calves, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 15, pp. 214-224 : 219

3.2.1. Cephenemyia trompe and Hypoderma tarandi

Eighty-three % (10/12) and 75% (9/12) of the calves shot during the autumn hunt in 2014 and 2015, respectively, displayed L 1 larvae of C. trompe in the nasal mucosa ( Fig. 4 ). The number of larvae was generally higher in the autumn of 2014, with six calves having> 50 larvae, whereas all calves examined in the autumn of 2015 had <30 larvae.

All calves examined in the spring of 2015 and 2016 carried C. trompe larvae in the pharynx ( Fig. 5 ) and H. tarandi larvae in the subcutis of the skin ( Fig. 6 ). The results are summarized in Table 2. The intensity of Oestrid infection (both species together) was significantly higher in the spring of 2015, compared to spring 2016 (p = 0.02). There was a trend towards an association between increased Oestrid larval infection and low carcass weight (p = 0.09). The quarter of calves with the highest intensities of infection had significantly lower carcass weights (– 1.7 kg (SE = 0.75), p = 0.03), compared to the calves with lower infection intensities. Similarly, the probability of an animal being classified as emaciated increased with the intensity of larval infection (p = 0.03): The average sum of larvae found in emaciated calves, versus calves with a fair body condition were 308 and 143, respectively.

Figures

Fig. 4. Translucent white first stage Cephenemyia trompe larvae (1 mm) in the nasal mucosa of a calf killed on Hardangervidda in autumn 2014.

Fig. 5. Cephenemyia trompe larvae in the pharynx/nasopharynx of a calf killed on Hardangervidda in spring 2015. Note the paired, swollen retropharyngeal lymph nodes (Ln).

Fig. 6. Photograph from the inside of the skin showing Hypoderma tarandi larvae removed from the lower part of the back of a calf killed on Hardangervidda in spring 2015.