New species and record of Diplosmittia Sther, 1981 (Diptera: Chironomidae, Orthocladiinae) from Brazil and Colombia.

Chironomidae is a diverse Diptera family found worldwide. The genus Diplosmittia Sther, 1981, currently with 11 valid species, has been found exclusively in the New World, mainly in the Caribbean and in the northern parts of South America; only three species are recorded from Brazil and none from Colombia so far. In the present study a new species of Diplosmittia is described and illustrated based on material collected in northeastern Brazil. It appears to be most closely related to Diplosmittia beluina Andersen, 1996, but can be distinguished by morphological differences in the virga and gonostylus. Diplosmittia harrisoni Sther, 1981 is documented for the first time from Colombia, and D. carinata Sther, 1985 is formally placed as a junior synonym of D. harrisoni. In addition, an update identification key to all known species of the genus has been provide.

A new species of Lucilia Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera, Calliphoridae) from the Amazon region and its potential distribution areas.

Lucilia amazonia, sp. nov. from the Amazon region of Colombia and Brazil is described based on morphology. This species appears to be limited to the Amazon region and is quite distinctive and unlike other Lucilia in the region. A key to the species is provided following the Lucilia key in Whitworth (2014). Based on the distribution observed, its likely distribution is predicted.

A short fragment of mitochondrial DNA for the taxonomic identification of blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in northwestern South America.

Blow flies are of medical, sanitary, veterinary, and forensic importance. Their accurate taxonomic identification is essential for their use in applied research. However, neotropical fauna has not been completely studied or described, and taxa identification without the required training is a difficult task. Additionally, the current morphological keys are not fitting to all extant taxa. Molecular-based approaches are widely used to overcome these issues, including the standard 5' COI barcode fragment (~650 base pairs [bp]) for identification at the species level. Here, a shorter sequence of 5' COI fragment (~342 bp) was assessed for the identification of 28 blow fly species inhabiting the northwest of South America. One tree-based (the generalized mixed Yule-coalescent-GMYC) and 3 distance-based approaches (automatic barcode gap discover - ABGD, the best close match - BCM, and the nearest neighbor - NN) analyses were performed. Noticeably, the amplification and sequencing of samples that had been preserved for up to 57 years were successful. The tree topology assigned 113 sequences to a specific taxon (70% effectiveness), while the distance approach assigned to 95 (59% effectiveness). The short fragment allowed the molecular identification of 19 species (60% of neotropical species except for the Lucilia species and Hemilucilia semidiaphana). According to these findings, the taxonomic and faunistic considerations of the blow fly fauna were provided. Overall, the short fragment approach constitutes an optimal species confirmation tool for the most common blow flies in northwestern South America.

Towards the systematics and diversity of Neotropical Tanytarsus van der Wulp (Diptera: Chironomidae): news from Colombia.

Our study pertains to the systematics and diversity of non-biting midges of the genus Tanytarsus van der Wulp, 1874 from the Neotropical region and in particular, Colombia, a country scarcely studied for these dipterans to date. Adult male specimens collected from the Colombian Llanos and Andes biomes belong to five species described as new in the present paper: Tanytarsus colombiensis sp. nov. (placed in the caipira species group, here defined), T. germani sp. nov. and T. gnomon sp. nov. (both placed in the curvicristatus group, here defined), T. lulu sp. nov. (in the ligulatus group, here defined) and T. meta sp. nov. (the riopreto group). Also an illustrated brief redescription of the adult male of T. hastatus Sublette et Sasa, 1994 is provided. After reclassification of Caladomyia Swedal, 1981, the name accepted as a junior synonym of Tanytarsus, several species names became homonyms, thus they are here proposed to be replaced with substitute names, as follows: Tanytarsus reiffi nom. nov. pro Tanytarsus reissi (Reiff, 2000); Tanytarsus sanseverinoi nom. nov. pro Tanytarsus angelae Trivinho-Strixino et Shimabukuro, 2017; Tanytarsus trivinhostrixinoi nom. nov. pro Tanytarsus fittkaui Sanseverino et Trivinho-Strixino, 2010. Rheotanytarsus breda (Roback, 1960) comb. nov. is excluded from Tanytarsus. An annotated checklist of Neotropical Tanytarsus, with 89 species, is also presented.

Influence of montane altitudinal ranges on species distribution models; evidence in Andean blow flies.

BACKGROUND: Blow flies are a family of dipterans of medical, veterinary and sanitary importance. We aim to predict the current geographical distribution of six neotropical blowfly species with different altitudinal ranges of distribution (high, medium, and lowlands) and degree of synanthropy (eusynanthropic, hemisynanthropic and asynanthropic) based on their existing fundamental niche (EA) in Northwestern South America. METHODS: Geographical records were compiled based on data from museum specimens and literature. The accessible area hypothesis (M) was calculated based on three criteria: (1) Altitudinal range, (2) Synanthropy values deducted based on the Human Influence Index (HII) raster dataset, and (3). The mean dispersal capability of flies. The modeling was performed using the Maxent entropy modeling software. The selection of parameters was made with the R Program ENMeval package. RESULTS: The models were assessed using the area under the operator-partial receiver curve (ROCp). The high statistical performance was evidenced in every modeling prediction. The modeling allowed identifying possible taxonomic inaccuracies and the lack of exhaustive collection in the field, especially for lowlands species. Geographical distribution predicted by the modeling and empirical data was remarkably coherent in montane species. DISCUSSION: The data obtained evidence that montane elevational ranges affect the performance of the distribution models. These models will allow a more precise predicting of medium and high elevation blow flies than lowlands species. Montane species modeling will accurately predict the fly occurrence to use such biological information for medical, legal, veterinary, and conservation purposes.

Spatial and Temporal Variation of the Blowflies Community (Diptera: Calliphoridae) From an Urban Area in Northern South America.

Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are necrophagous flies with ecological, medical, veterinary, and forensic importance. These flies carry pathogens that they spread to animals and humans, and produce myiasis. Furthermore, they are useful tools in forensic science as indicators of postmortem intervals, and in biomedicine they are successfully used in larval therapy. This study aimed to assess the spatiotemporal variation of the blowflies community from the urban area of Sincelejo City, located in the Colombian Caribbean region. Samplings were conducted from May 2012 to April 2013, using Van Someren Rydon-traps baited with bovine meat, fish, and chicken that decomposed for 48 h. Six species were registered, Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius, 1775) was the most abundant, followed by Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann, 1819) and Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819), while Chloroprocta idioidea (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830), Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794), and Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830) presented the least individuals. The blowflies community did not change significantly throughout the sampling months or between the periods of low or high rainfall, nor was it influenced by weather variables. Although the species composition was the same in all sampled localities, species abundances presented significant differences. The possible causes of this pattern are discussed herein. Sex ratios were female biased for all the recorded species, except C. idioidea. Our findings provide the first assessment of the blowflies community from the urban area of Sincelejo City.

A case of flying insects visiting an anatomy and embalming laboratory in Medellín, Colombia.

From July to September of 2012, the fauna of flying insects visiting the anatomy and embalming laboratory of the Tecnológico de Antioquia, Faculty of Forensic Sciences, located in the city of Medellin, Colombia, were recorded. The first checklist in the literature of incidental flying insects occurring in this type of locale is provided, and a brief discussion is given of their behavioral habits related to this uncommon case.

A survey of necrophagous blowflies (Diptera: Oestroidea) in the Amazonas-Negro interfluvial region (Brazilian Amazon)

ABSTRACT The fauna of blowflies (Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae) in three localities of primary Amazon forest coverage in the Amazonas-Negro interfluvial region was assessed. A total of 5066 blowflies were collected, with Chloroprocta idiodea being the most abundant species (66.3%). A difference in species richness between the localities ZF2 and Novo Airão was observed. Comparison among sampled sites revealed no considerable variation in fauna composition, except for the species Eumesembrinella benoisti (Séguy 1925) and Hemilucilia sp., whose occurrence was observed only in a single locality. Apparently, Amazon rivers are not efficient geographical barriers to influence the current composition of necrophagous blowfly assemblages. Also, most of the blowfly species did not show a noticeable specificity for any specific forest among the interfluvial areas of the ombrophilous forest. Finally, an updated checklist of necrophagous blowfly species of the Amazonas state in Brazil is presented.

Notes on necrophagous flies (Diptera: Calyptratae) associated to fish carrion in Colombian Amazon / Notas sobre moscas necrófagas (Diptera: Caliptratae) associadas a carcaças de peixe na Amazônia Colombiana

In recent years, there has been an increasing number of studies on carrion fly communities due to their medical importance and as a consequence of the large number of studies on forensic entomology. Surprisingly few studies have adressed with the asynantropic flies of the Amazon, and none were done in Colombia. A faunistic study of asynantropic flies of the families Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae and Fannidae in three different landscapes of the Colombian Amazon is presented, trapping effectiveness is assessed, and the first record of Mesembrinella batesi (Aldrich, 1922) and Fannia femoralis (Stein, 1897) from Colombia is reported.

Apesar de existir uma quantidade considerável de estudos sobre dípteros decompositores devido a sua importância medica e ao avanço da entomologia forense, poucos dizem respeito as moscas asinantrópicas na Amazônia e nada foi feito na Colômbia. No presente trabalho é feito um estudo faunístico sobre moscas, principalmente das famílias Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae e Fanniidae em três diferentes paisagens da Amazônia Colombiana, além do primeiro registro das espécies Mesembrinella batesi (Aldrich, 1922) e Fannia femoralis (Stein, 1897) para Colômbia e avaliação da amostragem utilizada.