New World Screwworm

Cochliomyia is a genus in the family Calliphoridae, known as blowflies, in the order Diptera. Four species are in this genus: C. macellaria, C. hominivorax, C. aldrichi, and C. minima. C. hominivorax is known as the primary screwworm because its larvae produce myiasis and feed on living tissue. This feeding causes deep, pocket-like lesions in the skin, which can be very damaging to the animal host.

It was eradicated from the United States, Mexico and much of Central America through a large scale sterile insect release program beginning in the 1950s, one of the earliest and most successful applications of that technique, though a resurgence into southern Mexico and Central America from 2022 renewed concern about its northward spread.