Diversity and synanthropy of flies (Diptera: Calyptratae) from Ecuador, with new records for the country

Abstract

The Calyptratae are one of the most diverse groups of Diptera. Some species have immature states involved in the decomposition of organic matter of animal origin (i.e., they are sarcosaprophagous). In this study, we examined the diversity and synanthropy of sarcosaprophagous calyptrates in several environmental zones of the Ecuadorian Andes. Captures were performed in an urban zone located in the Tocachi community with monocultures (MC) and polycultures (PC), a rural zone with an agroecological farming system (AFS), and a forest zone with a montane forest located in the Parque Arqueológico Cochasquí (PAC) and the Cochasquí montane forest (CMF). A total of 2,925 specimens of Calyptratae were collected, representing 38 morphotypes and 17 species. Four are new reports for Ecuador: Dolichophaonia trigona (Shannon & Del Ponte), Phaonia trispila (Bigot), Compsomyiops melloi Dear, and Calliphora lopesi Mello. CMF and PAC presented high abundance and richness, followed by AFS, MC, and PC; PAC showed the highest diversity, in contrast to lowest in MC; the evenness decreased from forest to urban zones. Species that exhibited a preference for human settlements (positive synanthropic index) included Limnophora marginata Stein, Phaonia trispila, Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann), Calliphora lopesi, Compsomyiops melloi, and Calliphora nigribasis Macquart. Those with a preference for uninhabited areas (negative index) included Tricharaea sp1, Sarconesiopsis magellanica (Le Guillou), and Sarconesia chlorogaster (Wiedemann).

Genetic variation of Limnophora marginata Stein, 1904 (Diptera: Muscidae), associated with an altitudinal gradient in Pedro Moncayo Canton, Pichincha, Ecuador

“…Several species of Limnophora have been evaluated, in Argentina for example, through the synantrophy index, giving as a result that 100% of the collected individuals were found in rural zones (Patitucci 2010). While in Ecuador research conducted by Blacio et al (2020), revealed that Limnophora marginata Stein, 1904 shows a preference for urban areas, with a high index of synantrophy. In addition, the species is distributed in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador (Fogaça and de Carvalho 2015).…”

Ciclo Biológico Y Tabla De Vida De Sarconesia Chlorogaster (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera, Calliphoridae) en Condiciones De Laboratorio en Cusco, Perú

“…Sarconesia chlorogaster (Wiedemann, 1830) blowfly is known as one of the most important species in the forensic insect fauna (Moura et al, 1997;Mulieri et al, 2006;Mariluis et al, 2008;Battán-Horenstein et al, 2016, Castillo et al, 2017. The bionomy of this species has been studied in Brazil (Queiroz et al, 1985), and about synantropy and diversity of Calliphoridae (Blacio et al, 2020).…”