Fred's pick

Allison Waibel of Through The Lens sent this photo on 3/4/2014 and asked for an i.d.

Photo by Allison Waibel, Through The Lens

I asked Fred 'I'll-pick-up-anything' Heath if he had any clues.
He wrote: 

Not only do I have clues, but I know exactly what it is. A few years ago on a Tuesday Sabino walk, we found one of these wandering across the Bear Canyon Trail not too far from the stables. It completely befuddled me. I took some photos and did a little digging. I finally realized it was a maggot (fly larva) and then was able to come up with a Horse Bot Fly (Gasterophilus intestinalis). This U of Florida website has an excellent discussion of its life cycle: including the fact that larva I had in my hand in the photo had recently came from a horse’s butt….yuck!!
It should make for an interesting blog, especially the warning that people should be reluctant to shake hands with me!

Photo by Fred Heath 2/22/2011

Anne says: I think he's washed his hands a few times since then.