worms in rabbit

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Red2x4

Member
Nov 16, 2017
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TX
Hey Everyone,
Can you offer input on these 3 worms I found in a rabbit I shot last night? I've never seen this before but I'm pretty new to hunting. I found them after I skinned it, on its back close to tail. The liver looked good, soft, no spots. Can anyone ID these worms? Is the rabbit good to eat or throw out?

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Also, I got a rabbit a few days ago. Its marinating right now. I didn't notice any worms in it when I skinned it but I wasn't looking for them. Are these easy to spot to should I thoroughly check out the whole thing when I skin it? I skinned by splitting its skin along the spine and pulling the skin apart and down around its belly and chest, then pop the knees up and pull the skin around the legs down. This shows me only the meat I want to harvest.

 
That appears to be a "Wolf Worm". Known commonly as "Screw Worms". They are the larvae of botflies. Look them up, assuming you are in the USA or North America there is only one species known to exists in this region. I would suggest you do some research into parasites of game animals to educate yourself on the different parasites you might find in game animals. Some are safe to humans, some not so much. It is my understanding that this parasite falls in the safe category.....gross looking but not hosted by humans in North America. Hope this helps.
EDIT: I see you are in Texas. Me too. Everything is bigger in Texas!! Even our worms!
 
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That looks as if it could be a Bot fly larva. They are usually between the skin and the meat. Try googling Bot fly larva images and see what you get. If it is a Bot larva, then as far as I know the meat is fine. I have only seen one Bot larva so far, the one I saw was darker and longer.
Hope that helps-I agree with Alan, toss it if you're in doubt. Google is your friend here-I have been tossing healthy looking rabbits due to strange attachments on the intestines. A google search on rabbit parasites informed me that they were larval tapeworms. The rabbit eats grass with the eggs on it, the larvae develop in the rabbit but only parasitize whatever animal eats their intestines. So as long as I thoroughly remove the larvae and fully cook the meat, it is safe to eat. (even if I get the willies, LOL!)
Here's a link to a PDF that may clarify things, though you may lose your appetite for a while..
https://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/publications/disease_emergence/Chapter5.pdf
Rabbits are plentiful where I live and I eat a fair amount of rabbit, so I like to know as much as possible.
John
 
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Bot fly's were bad this year in the lower panhandle and rolling plains. Had some issues with them in my cattle! Had not seen them since I was a kid but I believe eradication was halted some time ago. Looks like the program needs to be revived. Also the Bot Fly and the Screw worm Fly are not the same species. Screw Worms are insidious colonies eating deeper and deeper till damage is severe and life threatening while the Bot fly's usually occur singularly between skin and muscle.. I was taught to remove a Bot Fly by placing a coke bottle (old glass type) over the lump (Fly larvae) neck down and "smack" the bottle with the heel of the hand which would pop the Bot fly like a zit with it rocketing into the bottle. Screw worms on the other hand must be excavated and the wound dressed and they have a stench you never forget!

Thurmond 
 
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I agree bot fly larvae and screw worms are different species from different flies. Although I suspect the two have been conflated in the past. Bot flies are harmless. Screw worms are dangerous. I was warned by old timers that the fly larvae in rabbits, the “wolves,” are dangerous and you have to wait until the frost comes before eating a rabbit. That’s a false assumption concerning bot fly larvae but true enough concerning screw worms. The cold kills screw worms. My grandpa told me that screw worms were deadly on livestock in Florida until the 1950s and then they became erradicated. I suspect that over the years wolves and screw worms have been confused as the screw worms died out. 

Think insect piranhas. That’s what I was told screw worms were like. My grandpa said they would regularly kill new born calves by swarming them at bird and investing them. 
 
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I've heard them called sheep Bot's too. I've killed White tail deer and Mule deer that had them in their nasal cavity. They'll come crawling out after they figure out the host is dead. You might find them in the bed of a pick-up if you've have the deer in there for a while. Nasty looking and you'd think it would drive a deer crazy. Maybe that's why they "blow" for now reason sometimes. I know I would..Eeek!
Jimmy
 
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"JohnL57"That looks as if it could be a Bot fly larva. They are usually between the skin and the meat. Try googling Bot fly larva images and see what you get. If it is a Bot larva, then as far as I know the meat is fine. I have only seen one Bot larva so far, the one I saw was darker and longer.
Hope that helps-I agree with Alan, toss it if you're in doubt. Google is your friend here-I have been tossing healthy looking rabbits due to strange attachments on the intestines. A google search on rabbit parasites informed me that they were larval tapeworms. The rabbit eats grass with the eggs on it, the larvae develop in the rabbit but only parasitize whatever animal eats their intestines. So as long as I thoroughly remove the larvae and fully cook the meat, it is safe to eat. (even if I get the willies, LOL!)
Here's a link to a PDF that may clarify things, though you may lose your appetite for a while..
https://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/publications/disease_emergence/Chapter5.pdf
Rabbits are plentiful where I live and I eat a fair amount of rabbit, so I like to know as much as possible.
John
Click to expand...
Great link - thanks!
 
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