Abstract
During 2004, four experiments were carried out, one each season, in order to determine the species composition and seasonal dynamics of Calliphoridae in a rural area of Córdoba (Argentina). Two pigs (Sus scrofa L.), weighing approximately 8 Kg each, were used in each experiment. They were killed with a blow to the head and immediately placed in a variant of the Schoenly et al. (1991) trap. One pig was exposed in the shade and the other one under direct sunlight. The insect fauna was collected daily during the four first weeks and every two or three days thereafter. A total of 16.609 adults of Calliphoridae were collected, and later on identified as one of the following seven species: Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann), Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius), Phaenicia sericata (Meigen), Phaenicia eximia (Wiedemann), Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius), Sarconesia chlorogaster (Wiedemann) and Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy. C. albiceps was the dominant species in summer, autumn and spring, being replaced in winter by C. vicina, S. chlorogaster and P. sericata. The analysis of the seasonal distribution of the species revealed that the greater incidences are in the months of summer, autumn and spring.
Highlights
The species of arthropods associated to vertebrate carrion constitute a complex community in which five ecological categories can be identified: necrophages, parasites and predators of the necrophages species, omnivores, opportunists and adventives (Smith, 1986; Catts and Goff, 1992)
When the arthropods colonize the carcasses, they do it in successional waves depending on the degree of carcass decomposition and the biogeographical region (Nuorteva, 1977; Smith, 1986)
Calliphoridae species are necrophages and breed in carrion, but they can breed on excrement or other types of organic matter and can be vectors of several animal and human diseases (Fischer et al, 2001)
Summary
The species of arthropods associated to vertebrate carrion constitute a complex community in which five ecological categories can be identified: necrophages, parasites and predators of the necrophages species, omnivores, opportunists and adventives (Smith, 1986; Catts and Goff, 1992). Dipteran families are the most abundant insects on carrion fauna, Calliphoridae being the first ones to arrive, followed by Sarcophagidae and Muscidae. They modify the physical and chemical conditions of carcasses allowing the colonization and establishment of species at later stages of the succession (Ricklefs, 1996). Calliphoridae species are necrophages and breed in carrion, but they can breed on excrement or other types of organic matter and can be vectors of several animal and human diseases (Fischer et al, 2001). The knowledge of the sequence in which Calliphoridae species colonize carrion is very useful in forensic sciences, since calliphorids are often the first to arrive at corpses providing accurate estimates for time of death
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