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Diversidade de Calliphoridae (Insecta: Diptera) em Hudson, Argentina RESUMO -As moscas Calliphoridae têm a importância sanitária e forense, e níveis diferentes de associação com os ambientes humanos (sinantropia). Conseqüentemente, as variações da diversidade específica em cada área poderiam ser usadas como um indicador do impacto antrópico. Neste estudo, a comunidade de Calliphoridae em Hudson (Argentina) foi coletada em três areas com graus diferentes de Sinantropia (natural, rural e urbana). As moscas foram atraídas com iscas e capturadas com rede entomológica. Doze coletas foram feitas em cada área e os índices de diversidade de Simpson e de Shannon foram calculados. A área natural foi a mais diversa. As outras duas áreas não mostraram nenhuma diferença significativa entre si. A diversidade foi mais elevada no meio da primavera e no fim do verão, e mais baixa no fim de primavera e no começo do verão. As alterações devido aos ambientes humanos afetam a diversidade, diminuindo a abundância de algumas espécies. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Calliphoridae, comunidade, diversidade específica, sinantropia, Buenos Aires ABSTRACT -Blowflies have sanitary and forensic importance, and different levels of association with human settlements (synanthropy). Therefore, specific diversity changes in each site could be used as an indicator of the anthropic impact. In this study, the community of Calliphoridae in Hudson (Argentina) was sampled in three sites with different degrees of Synanthropy (natural, rural and urban). Flies were attracted with bait and collected with an insect net. Twelve samples were collected in each site and both Simpson and Shannon diversity indexes were calculated. The Natural area was the most diverse. The other two areas showed no significant differences between them. The diversity was higher in the middle of spring and in late summer, and lower at the end of spring and in the beginning of summer. Alterations due to human settlements affect diversity by decreasing the abundance of some species.

To quantify the potential capability of transporting and passing infective pathogens of some blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Mihályi's danger-index (p < 0.10; D = 4.28, 4.44 and 5.66 respectively) and C. megacephala, C. vicina and P. sericata appear to represent the heaviest potential sanitary risk with the highest index value (p < 0.10; D = 15.54, 16.88 and 12.49 respectively).Key words: sanitary entomology -disease transmission -Argentina Many flies, particularly those linked to the human settlements, are important disease vectors (Brown 1997, Chavasse et al. 1999, Graczyk et al. 1999, Fischer et al. 2001. The blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are important vectors in the transmission of many pathogenes of human and domestic animals (Greenberg 1971).Passive transport was demostrated for eggs of Taenia sp., Entamoeba coli, Giardia lamblia (Mariluis et al. 1989), Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and so on (Fischer et al. 2001). Also the participation of the Calliphoridae flies in myiasis (Guimarães et al. 1983, Leclerq 1990, Guimarães & Papavero 1999, Kumarasinghe et al. 2000, Costamagna et al. 2002 is of interest to sanitary entomologists.Around the middle of the last century, some researchers proposed to quantify and discriminate the communicativity of mature flies. Gregor and Povolny (1958) made a sharp distinction in the communication and noncommunication in synanthropic flies, and Nuorteva (1963) proposed to express numerically the synanthropy degree by means of the synanthropic index (SI).The SI ranges between +100 and -100, the former representing the highest degree of synanthropy. Negative values indicate avoidance of man.Mihályi (1967) did not consider the SI sufficiently informative, in a sanitary sense, and for this reason he makes up a "danger-index" keeping in mind three aspects of the behavioural and morphological characteristics of the insect vectors: the undergoing infection, the passing infection and body size of the vector.The idea of a direct relationship between body size and the capability of contamination and transmission of pathogens seem to be supported by several researches around the world (Mariluis et al. 1989, Brown 1997, Graczyk et al. 1999, Fischer et al. 2001.The aim of this work is to quantify the potential infection and transmission of pathogenes of some blowflies species from Buenos Aires province (Argentina) using the Mihályi's index. In addition, a modification to the original equation of the Danger-Index is proposed in order to insert into the index information on the synanthropy of the species.The taxocoenoses of Calliphoridae in Hudson (34º45'S, 58º25'W), province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was studied from 1993 to 1995 (Centeno 2002). From these captures, a total of 177 specimens including 7 species of Calliphoridae and 1 of Muscidae (Musca domestica L.) were separated for measuring. The number of specimens taken from each species is summarized in the Table. To calculate the body size (volume) of each fly, the measurements of their three dimensions were made usi...

Beetles associated with carrion play an important role in recycling organic matter in an ecosystem. Four experiments on decomposition, one per season, were conducted in a semirural area in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Melyridae are reported for the first time of forensic interest. Apart from adults and larvae of Scarabaeidae, thirteen species and two genera of other coleopteran families are new forensic records in Argentina. Diversity, abundance, and species composition of beetles showed differences between stages and seasons. Our results differed from other studies conducted in temperate regions. Four guilds and succession patterns were established in relation to decomposition stages and seasons. Dermestidae (necrophages) predominated in winter during the decomposition process; Staphylinidae (necrophiles) in Fresh and Bloat stages during spring, summer, and autumn; and Histeridae (necrophiles) and Cleridae (omnivores) in the following stages during those seasons. Finally, coleopteran activity, diversity and abundance, and decomposition rate change with biogeoclimatic characteristics, which is of significance in forensics.