8 of the Scariest Animals for Pure Nightmare Fuel

What could be scarier than maggots emerging from your skin? It’s the stuff of horror movies. The scientific name for this phenomenon is myiasis, and it’s more common than you might think.

At first glance, the human bot fly (Dermatobia hominis) simply looks like a rather large fly. It’s 0.6 inches or 15 millimeters long, about twice as big as a typical housefly.

But these creepy animals are parasites that lay their eggs on mosquitos, knowing that the mosquitos will suck mammals’ blood. When they do, the eggs burrow into the mammals’ skin, where they feed for 5 to 10 weeks before emerging from their host and continuing their life cycle.

The human bot fly of Central and South America is the most famous insect to sneak its larvae into humans, but its not the only one capable of myiasis — and humans aren’t the only victims. Other animals that host these creepy creatures include dogs, rabbits and livestock.