Bob Mount: Spanish novelty found near backyard pond

A large piece of coral has been lying on my pond pier for about 10 years. As nearly as I can determine, my late son, Robert Jr., found it on a beach at Vieques, a Puerto Rican island.

Last week, a neighborhood friend, Bill Herring, examined the coral, and noticed something previously undetected: a coin embedded in the matrix. It was roughly the size of a silver dollar but much thinner and octagonal in shape.

It was easily removable and after washing it gently, I detected designs on both sides.

My friend Dr. Charles Branch is interested in novelties and a computer expert, so I took the coin to him for a look-see. He photographed both sides and sent the photos to the numismatic information group, Coin Talk. Several viewers responded and identified it as an “8 Real Spanish,” minted sometime between 1751 and 1821.

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The parasitic larvae of botflies, often referred to as wolves when detected in the flesh of their vertebrate hosts, which include rabbits, squirrels, and cattle, hatch from eggs laid on the host by the female flies. The eggs hatch and the larvae penetrate the hosts’ skin and feed on their flesh until ready to pupate. They then make their exit, burrow into the ground, enter the pupal stage and ultimately emerge as adults.

Cattle recognize when botflies are in the vicinity and attempt to avoid them because the burrowing of the fly larvae into the cows’ “heels,” the point the botflies often attack, is apparently painful.

Other botfly hosts may also attempt to avoid botfly attacks. The yellow-faced botfly, Dermatobium homonis, of South American jungles, has evolved a sneaky way of infesting its hosts.

The female fly captures a mosquito and attaches its fertile eggs to the mosquito’s belly.

When the mosquito lights on the skin of a host animal to get a blood meal, the eggs hatch, and the larvae penetrate the skin of the host.

The November issue of Discover magazine contains an article on the yellow-faced botfly written by Claire Duxavan about a woman admitted to an ER in Los Angeles saying there was something in her arm trying to get out, and insisting on being examined by a tropical medicine specialist.

Some in the ER thought she may be delusional, but it was ultimately determined that her symptoms were the result of the presence of the yellow-faced botfly. Shortly before she had been on a field trip to the Peruvian Amazon.

So if you take a trip to the Amazon and after your return feel like something is creeping around in your body trying to get out, consult your physician. If he tells you it’s just your imagination, tell him to Google Dermatobium homonis.

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According to Chairman Merrell Jones, a few members of the Order of the Geezers risk having their membership revoked because of poor attendance records, notable among which is Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller.

At a recent meeting, Paul Conner’s application was accepted by acclamation.

Bob Mount is emeritus professor of zoology and entomology at Auburn University and writes a weekly column for the Opelika-Auburn News.