Unlike other forms of myiasis in which the larva feeds and pupates within the host tissue, the Congo floor maggot
(
Auchmeromyia luteola) lives in the soil or in the earthen floors of huts and crawls upon the host in the night for a
blood meal. The larva, which may grow up to 18 mm long, requires 6 to 20 feedings before it pupates in the dirt.
They carry no disease and may be avoided by sleeping on a raised bed.