Common cattle grub vs Northern cattle grub

Hypoderma lineatum compared with Hypoderma bovis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common cattle grub	Northern cattle grub
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Diptera (Diptera)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family same	Oestridae	Oestridae
Genus same	Hypoderma	Hypoderma
Species	Hypoderma lineatum	Hypoderma bovis

Evolutionary Relationship

Common cattle grub and Northern cattle grub share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Hypoderma.

Conservation Status

Common cattle grub

EX — Extinct

Northern cattle grub

EX — Extinct

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common cattle grub	Northern cattle grub
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common cattle grub

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Japan, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Northern cattle grub

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Common cattle grub

<em>Hypoderma lineatum</em>, commonly known as the common cattle grub, is a parasitic fly species with documented occurrences in Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. It typically inhabited terrestrial and freshwater environments, often associated with cattle and other large ungulates on which its larvae develop as subcutaneous parasites. The species is classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List, indicating that it is no longer known to exist in the wild. Common cattle grub belongs to the genus <em>Hypoderma</em> within the family Oestridae. Adult flies do not feed and are short-lived, while larvae burrow under the skin of host animals, causing a condition known as hypodermosis or warble fly infestation. The decline and extinction of this species has been linked to widespread and highly effective veterinary treatment programs targeting warble fly larvae in cattle, which drastically reduced host populations and ultimately eliminated the species. Biological traits such as average lifespan, body length, and mass of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇯🇵 Japan 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States