Well, at least they are NOT parasites. And while we are on the subject, here are parasitic BOTFLIES (Oestridae), in Russian "Ovod"
I am not sure anybody made connection of Botfly to Ovod yet.
But "Ovod" in Russian is also the title of the famous "Gadfly" (1897) by Ethel Voynich, incredibly popular in Russia (a Soviet film with a Shostakovich score was made), about Garibaldi insurgency in Italy, main hero modeled after Herzen's firend Mazzini. English "gadfly" is a generic term for both Oestridae (botflies) and Tabanidae (horseflies, Russ. slepni). Nabokov has a good discussion of those insects Chernyshevsky chapter of "Dar".Gadfly was also sent by Hera to torment Io when the latter was turned into a white heifer.
I am not sure anybody commented on this yet but Botkin is a famous Russian historical name, Vasily Botkin (Botkine), son of a famous tea merchant, was a well-known Russian Westernized "estethe", literary critic, contributor to "Sovremennik" , firend of Turgenev and Belinsky.
His brother Sergei was a famous physician (Botkin Hospital in St Petersburg is named over him), and their sister Maria married my famous namesake, Afanasiy Fet -- the only writer who saw butterflies (VN).
Another doctor, Evgeny Botkin (same family??) was family physician to Nicholas II family, murdered with the latter. This could be a shortcut to regicide theme so central to Pale Fire?
Victor Fet
Dear Jansy,
Again I must apologize - - you were asking about the meanging of sarco- not -phagus as I clumsily managed to confuse.
Your guess is correct. The Greek word for flesh is indeed sarka.
Carolyn
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