Blowflies (Diptera, Calliphoridae) Associated with Pig Carcasses in a Caatinga Area, Northeastern Brazil.

Abstract

Studies that focused on Calliphoridae associated with pig carcasses are abundant in southern and southeastern Brazil; however, there are few in northeast. Here, we present an inventory of the blowfly species associated with the stages of decomposition of pig carcasses in a caatinga area during dry and rainy seasons. The study took place at the Private Reserve for the Environmental Inheritance "Fazenda Almas," state of Paraíba, Brazil. Using a modified version of the Shannon trap, 32,909 adult specimens belonging to eight species were captured. During the dry season, Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius) (52.2%) and Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (39.9%) were the most abundant species. In the rainy season, when the majority of individuals were captured (93.7%), Chloroprocta idioidea (Robineau-Desvoidy) (71.1%) was the most abundant. Five decomposition stages were recognized, being the active decay the most attractive to colonization by blowflies, except for Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann), which was more abundant in the bloated stage.