Bōts or Bōtts, n. pl.

n. pl. [Probably from bite, because these grubs bite and gnaw the intestines of horses. Cf. Prov. Eng. he botte, he bit.] (Entom.) Small worms found in the intestines of horses.

☞ They are the larves of the bot-fly, breese-fly, or gad-fly, of the family Œstridæ, which deposits its eggs upon the hair, generally of the fore legs and mane, whence they are taken into the mouth and swallowed. This word is also applied to the larves of other species of Œstrus, found under the hides of oxen, in the nostrils of sheep, &c.