Contribución al conocimiento de los Calliphoridae y Sarcophagidae sarcosaprófagos presentes en un agrosistema del sureste de la Península Ibérica

Se presenta un listado de 11 especies de Calliphoridae y Sarcophagidae capturados en la estación Biológica Torretes situada en el término municipal de Ibi y colindante con el Parque Natural del Carrascal de la Font Roja, al norte de la provincia de Alicante. Los ejemplares fueron obtenidos tras un muestreo de 72 horas mediante el empleo de diversas trampas cebadas con hígado de cerdo y carcasas de pollo evisceradas, en una zona de pinar y en una zona soleada de cultivo. También se indica la distribución actualizada de las especies capturadas en España y una síntesis sobre los aspectos más importantes sobre su bionomía.A list of 11 species of Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae captured at Torretes Biological Station located in the town of Ibi and adjacent to the Natural Park of Font Roja in the north of the province of Alicante is presented. The specimens were obtained over a 72 hours sampling by baited traps with pork liver and eviscerated chicken carcasses in a pine forest area and in a crop sunny area. The current distribution of the species captured in Spain, and a summary of the most important aspects of their bionomics is also detailed.Este trabajo ha sido apoyado por el Progama Alßan, (Programa de Becas de Alto Nivel para América Latina, No. E06D101359VE) y parcialmente financiado por los proyectos GV/2011/039 (Generalitat Valenciana) y GRE09-27 (Universidad de Alicante)

Pig manure treatment with housefly (Musca domestica) rearing – an environmental life cycle assessment

The largest portion of a product’s environmental impacts and costs of manufacturing and use results from decisions taken in the conceptual design phase long before its market entry. To foster sustainable production patterns, applying life cycle assessment in the early product development stage is gaining importance. Following recent scientific studies on using dipteran fly species for waste management, this paper presents an assessment of two insect-based manure treatment systems. Considering the necessity of manure treatment in regions with concentrated animal operations, reducing excess manure volumes with the means of insects presents a potentially convenient method to combine waste reduction and nutrient recovery. An analytical comparison of rearing houseflies on fresh and pre-treated pig manure is reported with reference to agricultural land occupation, water and fossil depletion potential. Based on ex-ante modelled industrial scale rearing systems, the driving factors of performance and environmentally sensitive aspects of the rearing process have been assessed. Expressed per kg manure dry matter reduction, the estimated agricultural land occupation varied between 1.4 and 2.7 m2yr, fossil depletion potential ranged from 1.9 to 3.4 kgoil eq and the obtained water depletion potential was calculated from 36.4 to 65.6 m3. System improvement potential was identified for heating related energy usage and water consumption. The geographical context and the utility of the co-products, i.e. residue substrates and insect products, were determined as influential variables to the application potential of this novel manure treatment concept. The results of this study, applied at the earliest stages of the design of the process, assist evaluation of the feasibility of such a system and provide guidance for future research and development activities.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 312084 (PROteINSECT)

Preliminary study of the insect fauna associated to carcasses in Maracay, Venezuela

Los insectos pueden ser una herramienta importante en la investigación médico legal, pero su utilidad depende mucho de la información base que se tenga en relación a las especies y su orden de llegada a los cadáveres para determinada zona. En Venezuela muy poco se conoce de la fauna de insectos asociada a cadáveres. En el presente trabajo se reportan las especies de artrópodos de importancia forense de asociadas a cadáveres de Rattus norvegicus y Oryctolagus cuniculus en Maracay –Venezuela, encontrándose que la fauna asociada a estos cadáveres está conformada principalmente por Dípteros (principalmente Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Sarcophagidae) y Coleópteros (Dermestidae, Cleridae). Los Dípteros colonizan el cadáver en los primeros días luego de la muerte, siendo Chrysomya albiceps la especie predominante en todos los cadáveres. Para esta localidad las especies que potencialmente pudieran aportar información en el estudio de un cadáver son Chrysomya albiceps, Phaenicia sericata, P. cluvia y P. eximia y Coleópteros de las familias Dermestidae y Cleridae.The insects can be an important tool in the legal medical research, but their utility depends on base information that exists in relation to the species and their order of arrival to corpses at each locality. In Venezuela, very little is known about the fauna of insects associated with corpses. In the present work we report the species of arthropods of forensic importance associated to carcasses of Rattus norvegicus and Oryctolagus cuniculus in Maracay, Venezuela. This fauna is conformed by Diptera (mainly Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Sarcophagidae) and Coleoptera (Dermestidae, Cleridae). The flies colonize the carcass in the first days after death, being Chrysomya albiceps the predominant species. For this locality the species that potentially could contribute in the study of a corpse are Chrysomya albiceps, Phaenicia sericata, P. cluvia and P. eximia and beetles of Dermestidae and Cleridae families

Macrocheles species (Acari: Macrochelidae) associated with human corpses in Europe

The biology of macrochelid mites might offer new venues for the interpretation of the environmental conditions surrounding human death and decomposition. Three human corpses, one from Sweden and two from Spain, have been analysed for the occurrence of Macrochelidae species. Macrocheles muscaedomesticae females were associated with a corpse that was found in a popular beach area of southeast Spain. Their arrival coincides with the occurrence of one of their major carrier species, the filth fly Fannia scalaris, the activity of which peaks during mid-summer. M. glaber specimens were collected from a corpse in a shallow grave in a forest in Sweden at the end of summer, concurrent with the arrival of beetles attracted by odours from the corpse. M. perglaber adults were sampled from a corpse found indoors in the rural surroundings of Granada city, Spain. The phoretic behaviour of this species is similar to that of M. glaber, but being more specific to Scarabaeidae and Geotrupidae dung beetles, most of which favour human faeces. M. muscaedomesticae is known from urban and rural areas and poultry farms; M. glaber from outdoors, particularly the countryside; while M. perglaber from outdoor, rural, and remote, potentially mountainous locations. M. muscaedomesticae and M. perglaber are reported for the first time from the Iberian Peninsula. This is the first record of M. perglaber from human remains

Macrocheles species (Acari: Macrochelidae) associated with human corpses in Europe

The biology of macrochelid mites might offer new venues for the interpretation of the environmental conditions surrounding human death and decomposition. Three human corpses, one from Sweden and two from Spain, have been analysed for the occurrence of Macrochelidae species. Macrocheles muscaedomesticae females were associated with a corpse that was found in a popular beach area of southeast Spain. Their arrival coincides with the occurrence of one of their major carrier species, the filth fly Fannia scalaris, the activity of which peaks during mid-summer. M. glaber specimens were collected from a corpse in a shallow grave in a forest in Sweden at the end of summer, concurrent with the arrival of beetles attracted by odours from the corpse. M. perglaber adults were sampled from a corpse found indoors in the rural surroundings of Granada city, Spain. The phoretic behaviour of this species is similar to that of M. glaber, but being more specific to Scarabaeidae and Geotrupidae dung beetles, most of which favour human faeces. M. muscaedomesticae is known from urban and rural areas and poultry farms; M. glaber from outdoors, particularly the countryside; while M. perglaber from outdoor, rural, and remote, potentially mountainous locations. M. muscaedomesticae and M. perglaber are reported for the first time from the Iberian Peninsula. This is the first record of M. perglaber from human remains

Checklist and distribution maps of the blow flies of Venezuela (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Mesembrinellidae)

A checklist of the 39 species of blow flies (Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae) so far known to occur in Venezuela is provided, based on a thorough literature review and the examination of ca. 500 specimens deposited in the main entomological collections of the country. Data from the literature and museum collections were used to generate distribution maps for 37 species. Three species are recorded from Venezuela for the first time: Chrysomya putoria (Wiedemann, 1830), Mesembrinella spicata Aldrich, 1925 and Mesembrinella umbrosa Aldrich, 1922.This research received support from the SYNTHESYS Project (http://www.synthesys.info/), which is financed by the European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP6 Program “Structuring the European Research Area”. This work was partially supported by the Valencia Autonomous Government (Generalitat Valenciana) (GV/2011/039) and the University of Alicante (GRE09–27)

Transformación en la enseñanza. Procesos naturales, caso: fotosíntesis

The subject of the present essay deals with the fragmentation of two (2) structures of domination, the economic and the ecological each one is based on its own laws; The particular dynamics of operation do not allow the conjunction between the two; Since economic action displaced the ecological system by considering its components and resources only as capital goods by allocating them exchange value, in which the consideration to replace worn environmental conditions can never be compensated, thus generating an environmental complexity; Even more serious is the revealing of the economic system with its defined patterns of behavior oriented towards the consumption of goods and services making positional to the market as the only means to solve the needs and the poverty in the societies, originating with them harmful effects as it has been the Consumerism, dependence, excessive use, uncontrolled natural resources, thus generating pollution and imbalance in the environment, it is significant, education from the primary to the higher levels to promote sociocultural change with the teaching of conservation, use Rational use of natural resources; In particular the vegetable element responsible for carrying out photosynthesis, for the benefits of the balance and functioning of the environment.El tema del presente ensayo versa sobre la fragmentación de dos (2) estructuras de dominación, la económica y la ecológica cada una se sustenta sobre sus propias leyes; la dinámica particular de funcionamiento no permiten la conjunción entre ambas; pues la acción económica desplazó al sistema ecológico considerando a sus componentes y recursos sólo como bienes de capital asignándoles valor de intercambio, en la cual la contraprestación para reponer las condiciones desgastadas del medio ambiente nunca podrán ser compensadas, generando así una complejidad ambiental; incluso más grave es el revelar del sistema económico con sus patrones de conductas definidas orientadas al consumo de bienes y servicios haciendo posicional al mercado como el único medio de resolver las necesidades y la pobreza en las sociedades, originando con ellos efectos nocivos como ha sido el consumismo, la dependencia, el uso desmedido, descontrolado de los recursos naturales por ende generador de contaminación y desequilibrio en el ambiente, es significativo, la educación desde los niveles primaria hasta la superior para impulsar cambio sociocultural con la enseñanza de la conservación, el uso racional de recursos naturales; en específico el vegetal elemento responsable de ejecutar la fotosíntesis, para beneficios del equilibrio y funcionamiento del medio ambiente

Genetic relationships among some species groups within the genus Lutzomyia (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Molecular data on Lutzomyia are very scarce, despite the fact that this genus includes all the species involved in the transmission of leishmaniasis in America. We examine the genetic relationships among eight morphologic groups within the Lutzomyia genus and two Brumptomyia species, using nine enzyme loci and the last 285 basepairs of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The structure of the genetic variation among the species analyzed indicated a closer genetic relationship among members of a morphologic group than between members of different groups. The lower levels of variation recorded among these groups compared with that between Brumptomyia and Lutzomyia suggest a subgeneric status for all of these groups, including Psychodopygus. A maximum likelihood tree for the allozyme data and a neighbor-joining consensus tree for the mitochondrial DNA sequences showed a general agreement with morphologic groups, with only minor differences. Nyssomyia, Verrucarum and Micropygomyia formed separate monophyletic groups. Lutzomyia could not be separated from Psathyromyia, and both Migonei species, L. dubitans and L. migonei, grouped in different clades according to the host species they are found on.This study was supported by Consejo Nacional de Investigacions Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICIT) (No. 96–0001370), the World Health Organization-World Bank (No. 021–007), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE)

Effects of temperature on the development of the Neotropical carrion beetle Oxelytrum discicolle (Brullé, 1840) (Coleoptera: Silphidae)

Due to its necrophagy, the Neotropical beetle Oxelytrum discicolle (Brullé, 1840) is found in association with human corpses. Its biology can provide important information to determine the postmortem interval (PMI). We studied the life cycle of O. discicolle in the laboratory under three constant temperatures (15, 20 and 28ºC) and under natural conditions (mean T = 18.5ºC) in a cloud forest in Altos de Pipe (10º20´N, 66º55´W) Miranda state, Venezuela. The total time required to complete development from egg to adult emergence shortened as temperatures increased, ranging from 40.00 ± 2.73 days at 15ºC to 20.33 ± 0.89 days at 28ºC. Developmental time in natural conditions was not significantly different from that obtained at 20ºC. This information would be useful to forensic entomology applied to criminal investigations in Venezuela and the Neotropical region