Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne got all soft inside when he thought about how the botfly larva in his scalp was eating his tissue and turning it into a new organism. It was of him, like a child. His friend Sarah Rogerson was a little less charmed, and they both were surprised by the creature that ultimately emerged from his head.
And Tom Eisner, professor of chemical ecology, loved bugs from earliest childhood, kept them in his room to keep him company when his family found themselves living in South America, bug paradise. He knew them well enough to classify them by how they smelled. These days, as he told Robert at the 92nd St Y, his subjects live for sometimes years, well-cared for in his lab, partners in his work decoding chemical signals to reach across the communication divide, trying to shorten the distance between coexisting organisms.
Comments [27]
My 10-year-old son asked me to turn to NPR last night as I was pulling up to a gas pump. We were so drawn into & intrigued by this icky & gross story that I could not get out of the car for the entirety of the segment. He said it was the coolest & most interesting thing he'd ever heard and I agree! Blessings to your deceased bot fly baby! :-) Radio Lab is our new fave on NPR!
Thank you for giving me a great reason to take a break from working to listen to this fascinating story. I can't stop itching and it was totally disgisting, but that's what made it so enjoyable. Keep up the great work!!
Great story! I just heard it for the first time today. Once I heard it, I immediately thought of the 1959 horror film The Manster. The "eye" scene from the movie (below) woud be similar to the "pea" stage of Jerry's fly. Just like Jerry's fly, the growth on this guy's shoulder gets better and better!
The Manster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S28IF0C2zpY&sns=em
Oh my god. This is SO fascinating. I'm terrified of childbirth (even though I'm a female), but for some inexplicable reason, I find this utterly amazing. Definitely gross, but awesome none the less.
If you want a visual for this, here are some closeups I took of a bot fly larva that popped out of my brother-in-law's dog: http://bugtracks.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/dog-bot/
This was vile, yet fascinating. But I shouldn't have googled 'botfly'. UGHHHHHH
Best story ever! Stopped what I was doing (painting a wall) just to listen. Where can I download this story?
about the more revolting segment I have ever heard, anywhere -- EVER.
chunky projectiles splattering across the room here...
What an excellent story. I'm glad I'm not in the tropics.
Oh my oh my oh my!!! I think I'm going to have nightmares of the botfly!
this is soooo grosss! ewwww!
"Radiolab does a gross misrepresentation of science and scientists with this story."
Sure, not all scientists are like that, but as a biologist myself, I found a kindred spirit in Jerry. I had many of the same thoughts regarding a wart on the palm of my hand: all those tiny viruses are turning me into them! Neat! Especially as a scientist, it's healthy to have such innate curiosity and appreciation for how the world works.
Okay, I'm itching all over!!! EEEWWW.
It was wonderful to be sitting in Austin and here Tom Eisner's voice - he's a wonderful professor and a great story teller
I actually had to stop working in my shop and just lean and listen. What a segment!
thanks,
keep it up,
~Gavin
This reminded me of a story from Octavia Butler called "Blood Child" about human men on another planet acting as surrogate "mothers" for parasitic aliens. At the end of the story there's a note from the author saying she wrote the story to confront her fear of botflies and because she wanted to explore the idea of male pregnancy. And that's exactly what Coyne's story sounds like. He even cared for the botfly like a mother. Too bad he didn't think to put it in a moist environment instead of a container of sand. Great story, upsetting but well done.
Kindly add this warning to the story on the botfly. I was traumatized by that story, I keep thinking about it all the time, cant get it out of my head. I am also disgusted by bugs (I wasn't before). Suggest any therapy ideas here.
Radiolab does a gross misrepresentation of science and scientists with this story. We could all have lived without that story and better. This is just trying to be sensational, what is the difference between radiolab and those magazines that I see in the grocery store checkout line ?
I loved this story and had to see what would come up when I googled botfly. Here's one of the results http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23eimVLAQ2c
I've had a botfly in me too! Mine was in my arm... but my friends got them other (not so fun) places and a professor got more than 3 on his scalp! We received ours in Belize. The way we got it out was duct tape, covering the air hole, it moves toward the top and you can pull it out with a tweezers. My professor had a difficult experience with the scalp ones... similar to the guy in the story, U.S. doctors confused, etc.
I heard this story last night and it was definitely one of the grossest and most fascinating stories I've ever heard. I love insects but I'll have to stop at letting one live in my forehead. I get a strange sort of shiver I've never had before just thinking about it. wow.
The segment on the Botfly was some of the best story telling I've ever heard in my life! Definitely the most gross story I have ever heard. I can't wait to tell this story to all of my friends, I just wish I could do a better job with the sound effects. Great job, and great program!
Tom Eisner is one of the reasons I love bugs! I took a class where he did a series of lectures about plant-insect interactions, and I was literally at the edge of my seat so I could hear every word. His passion for science and his curiosity about all life are inspirational. I always wished I could thank him.
The last comments by Eisner were just beautiful!
My face was scrunched in disgust as I listened to this segment but it prompted me to go look up Botfly extractions. Even more gross, but strangely fascinating.
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww.
The folks in my office were just screaming about a cockroach 15 minutes ago, I can't wait to tell them this story!
Go Sox! The Botfly story is the grossest most interesting story I have ever heard. Great job with this segment.
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