A comparative study of Diptera communities associated with pig carcasses was carried out in urban and natural settings in tropical mountain habitats of Southern Mexico. Schoenly-type traps were used to set out pig carcasses during 68 d of sampling effort. In total, 1,703 adult Diptera specimens were collected in both localities combined, and recording a total of 30 (morpho) species and 19 families. Compared to natural habitats, a significantly greater diversity in urban habitats, as well as a faster decomposition process of carcasses, was detected. Significant differences were also detected for the composition and structure of Dipteran communities between urban and natural sites. Dominant species of Calliphoridae for natural and urban habitats were represented by Compsomyiops spp. and Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius; Diptera: Calliphoridae), respectively. The properties of indicator species for urban and natural sites are discussed. Twenty Dipteran species were significantly associated to different decomposition stages. Such affinity would allow for estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI) in comparable situations.

Over 1000 species of arthropods have been recorded from cadavers worldwide. While conducting a study on the diversity and abundance of insects associated with pig (Sus scrofa Linnaeus; Mammalia: Suidae) carrion in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, we noticed the presence of thrips (Thysanoptera) in the collecting containers of traps. The thrips collected comprised the following species: Aeolothrips species (Aeolothripidae), Frankliniella brunnea Priesner (Thripidae), Frankliniella fusca (Hinds), Frankliniella trinidadensis Hood, Neohydatothrips portoricensis (Morgan) (Thripidae), Thrips simplex (Morison) (Thripidae), Wegenerithrips admirabilis Johansen (Thripidae), and Stephanothrips bradleyi Hood (Phlaeothripidae). These species were taken in Schoenly traps, a device designed to catch sarcosaprophagous insects. The thrips species reported in the present study have not previously been recovered from decomposing cadavers, and their occurrence suggests an attraction to one or more components of the trap, rather than an incidental presence. Albeit thrips are not considered forensically important, more studies are needed to elucidate their role in carrion ecology.