Entomology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Entomology, including details on insects, parasites, diseases.

New piophilid in town: the first Palaearctic record of Piophila megastigmata and its coexistence with Piophila casei in central Spain.

Martín-Vega D, Gómez-Gómez A, Baz A, Díaz-Aranda LM

Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain.

The genus Piophila Fallén (Diptera: Piophilidae) is known from only two species: Piophila casei (L.) is a major pest, a cosmopolitan species and is commonly used as a forensic indicator, whereas Piophila megastigmata McAlpine has until now only been recorded in a natural environment in South Africa. The present work reports the first occurrence of P. megastigmata in the Palaearctic region from specimens collected by carrion-baited traps throughout different natural habitats of central Spain. Furthermore, the species was also collected with P. casei on corpses of domestic pigs used in a carrion succession study in a periurban habitat in central Spain. Both species occurred on carrion in different seasons, but P. megastigmata was more abundant than P. casei in autumn, arriving earlier at the carcasses and persisting for a longer period. The contrary pattern was observed in spring. The presence of P. megastigmata in different localities in central Spain and its coexistence with P. casei in a periurban habitat make it a potentially useful new tool for legal medicine in Europe; thus this species must be considered in forensic entomology studies.

Published 7 September 2010 in Med Vet Entomol.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2011 Entomology Research Today. All Rights Reserved.