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First record of Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead, 1904 (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) parasitizing the blowfly Sarconesia chlorogaster (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in Brazil

The blowfly Sarconesia chlorogaster (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) (Figure 1a) is endemic in South America and occurs in colder regions with more temperate climates. It has been recorded in: Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and the Southern region of Brazil (Dear, 1979Dear, JP., 1979. A revision of the Toxotarsinae (Diptera, Calliphoridae). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, vol. 32, no. 13, p. 145-182.). Due to the necrophagous habits of their larvae, S. chlorogaster is commonly recorded feeding on carcasses (e.g. Moura et al., 1997Moura, MO., Carvalho, CJ. and Monteiro-Filho, ELA., 1997. A preliminary analysis of insects of medico-legal importance in Curitiba, State of Paraná. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, vol. 92, no. 2, p. 269-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761997000200023. PMid:9332590
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761997...
) and human bodies (Vairo et al., 2015Vairo, KP., Corrêa, RC., Lecheta, MC., Caneparo, MF., Mise, KM., Preti, D., Carvalho, CJ., Almeida, LM. and Moura, MO., 2015. Forensic use of a subtropical blowfly: the first case indicating minimum postmortem interval (mPMI) in southern Brazil and first record of Sarconesia chlorogaster from a human corpse. Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 60, supplement 1, p. S257-S260. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12596. PMid:25425207
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.1259...
). Thus, this species can help estimate the time elapsed between death and the discovery of a body, defined as postmortem interval (PMI).

Figure 1
(a). Sarconesia chlorogaster (Wiedemann), female, lateral view, scale bar = 5mm; (b). Pupae of S. chlorogaster parasitized by Tachinaephagus zealandicus. Black arrow indicates parasitoid emergence hole, scale bar = 2mm; (c). T. zealandicus Ashmead, female, lateral view, scale bar = 1mm.

Tachinaephagus zealandicus Ashmead, 1904 (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) is a gregarious endoparasitoid wasp that attacks the third instar of the maggots, the post feeding larvae, or the prepupae of synanthropic flies (Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Sarcophagidae) (Olton and Legner, 1974Olton, GS. and Legner, EF., 1974. Biology of . Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), parasitoid of synanthropic DipteraCanadian Entomologist, vol. 106, no. 8, p. 785-800. http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/Ent106785-8.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/Ent106785-8...
). This species, probably native to Australia and New Zealand, has been introduced into various parts of the world since the late 1960s and early 1970s (Legner and Olton, 1968Legner, EF. and Olton, GS., 1968. Activity of parasites from diptera: Musca domestica, Stomoxys calcitrans, and species of Fannia, Muscina, and . Ophyra. II. At sites in the Eastern Hemisphere and Pacific areaAnnals of the Entomological Society of America, vol. 61, no. 5, p. 1306-1314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aesa/61.5.1306. PMid:5758059
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aesa/61.5.1306...
) in attempts to control pest species of synanthropic Diptera. It is currently established in areas of Africa (Prinsloo, 1979Prinsloo, GL., 1979. On some little-known african Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), with new records and descriptions of genera and species. Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa, vol. 42, no. 1, p. 17-34.), Europe (e.g. Frederickx et al., 2013Frederickx, C., Dekeirsschieter, J., Verheggen, FJ. and Haubruge, E., 2013. The community of Hymenoptera parasitizing necrophagous Diptera in an urban biotope. Journal of Insect Science (Online), vol. 13, no. 32, p. 1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1673/031.013.3201. PMid:23895458
http://dx.doi.org/10.1673/031.013.3201...
), North America (e.g. Legner and Olton, 1968Legner, EF. and Olton, GS., 1968. Activity of parasites from diptera: Musca domestica, Stomoxys calcitrans, and species of Fannia, Muscina, and . Ophyra. II. At sites in the Eastern Hemisphere and Pacific areaAnnals of the Entomological Society of America, vol. 61, no. 5, p. 1306-1314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aesa/61.5.1306. PMid:5758059
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aesa/61.5.1306...
) and South America. In Brazil, T. zealandicus was reported in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro parasitizing flies of the families Muscidae (e.g. Silveira et al., 1989Silveira, GAR., Madeira, NG., AZEREDO-ESPIN, AML. and PAVAN, C., 1989. Levantamento de microhimenópteros parasitóides de dípteros de importância médico-veterinária no Brasil. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, vol. 84, no. 4, p. 505-510. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761989000800089.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761989...
), Sarcophagidae (Carvalho et al., 1995Carvalho, LML., Linhares, AX. and Ferreira De Almeida, MA., 1995. Ocorrência de microhimenópteros parasitóides associados às pupas de Sarcophagidae e Calliphoridae criadas na carcaça animal numa reserva natural de Campinas, SP. In Anais do XV Congresso de Entomologia, 1995. Caxambu. Lavras: Editora UFLA. p. 590.) and Calliphoridae. The parasitoid has been recorded attacking the following calliphorid species: Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel, 1858) (Silveira et al., 1989Silveira, GAR., Madeira, NG., AZEREDO-ESPIN, AML. and PAVAN, C., 1989. Levantamento de microhimenópteros parasitóides de dípteros de importância médico-veterinária no Brasil. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, vol. 84, no. 4, p. 505-510. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761989000800089.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761989...
), Chrysomya putoria (Wiedemann, 1830) (Almeida et al., 2002Almeida, MAF., Prado, AP. and Geden, CJ., 2002. Influence of temperature on development time and longevity of (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), and effects of nutrition and emergence order on longevity. Tachinaephagus zealandicusEnvironmental Entomology, vol. 31, no. 2, p. 375-380. http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X-31.2.375.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X-31.2...
) and Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (e.g. Carvalho et al., 2003Carvalho, AR., Mello, RP. and d’Almeida, JM., 2003. Microhimenópteros parasitóides de Chrysomya megacephala.Revista de Saude Publica, vol. 37, no. 6, p. 810-812. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102003000600019. PMid:14666314
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102003...
).

Here we present the first record for T. zealandicus parasitizing S. chlorogaster and the genus Sarconesia and the first record of its occurrence in Paraná State.

In 2012, during a study involving colonies maintained in field conditions of S. chlorogaster in Curitiba (25°25’S; 49°14’W), Paraná State, Brazil, we noticed the presence of many parasitoids emerging from the puparium (Figure 1b) of this species. After that, in the next generation, all pupae were individualized in test tubes to confirm the occurrence of parasitoids. We observed that about 3% of pupae were parasitized and the average of parasitoids emergence were 30 individuals per pupae. Parasitoids were identified as T. zealandicus (Figure 1c) using Subba Rao (1978)Subba Rao, BR., 1978. A revision of Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) with descriptions of four new species. TachinaephagusBulletin of Entomological Research, vol. 68, no. 01, p. 65-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S000748530000715X.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007485300007...
key to species. Parasitism occurred in more than one generation while the colony was maintained under field conditions.

These new records presented here are valuable due to the possibility of using S. chlorogaster in PMI estimates based on insects, since the presence of parasitoids can either help or hinder these estimates (Holdaway and Evans, 1930Holdaway, FG. and Evans, AC., 1930. Parasitism a stimulus to pupation: in relation to the host Alysia manducatorLucilia sericata.Nature, vol. 125, no. 3155, p. 598-599. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/125598a0.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/125598a0...
; Amendt et al., 2000Amendt, J., Krettek, R., Niess, C., Zehner, R. and Bratzke, H., 2000. Forensic entomology in Germany. Forensic Science International, vol. 113, no. 1-3, p. 309-314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0379-0738(00)00239-5. PMid:10978642
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0379-0738(00)...
; Turchetto and Vanin, 2004Turchetto, M. and Vanin, S., 2004. Forensic evaluations on a crime case with monospecific necrophagous fly population infected by two parasitoid species. Anil Aggrawals Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 12-18.). Thus, more studies are needed to evaluate the effect of this parasitoid on development of S. chlorogaster and its possible implications for PMI estimations.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) for financial support: MCL (CNPq: process number 141043/2012-1) and DRL (CNPq: process number 143491/2011-3).

References

  • Almeida, MAF., Prado, AP. and Geden, CJ., 2002. Influence of temperature on development time and longevity of (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), and effects of nutrition and emergence order on longevity. Tachinaephagus zealandicusEnvironmental Entomology, vol. 31, no. 2, p. 375-380. http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X-31.2.375.
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X-31.2.375
  • Amendt, J., Krettek, R., Niess, C., Zehner, R. and Bratzke, H., 2000. Forensic entomology in Germany. Forensic Science International, vol. 113, no. 1-3, p. 309-314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0379-0738(00)00239-5. PMid:10978642
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0379-0738(00)00239-5
  • Carvalho, LML., Linhares, AX. and Ferreira De Almeida, MA., 1995. Ocorrência de microhimenópteros parasitóides associados às pupas de Sarcophagidae e Calliphoridae criadas na carcaça animal numa reserva natural de Campinas, SP. In Anais do XV Congresso de Entomologia, 1995. Caxambu. Lavras: Editora UFLA. p. 590.
  • Carvalho, AR., Mello, RP. and d’Almeida, JM., 2003. Microhimenópteros parasitóides de Chrysomya megacephala.Revista de Saude Publica, vol. 37, no. 6, p. 810-812. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102003000600019. PMid:14666314
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102003000600019
  • Dear, JP., 1979. A revision of the Toxotarsinae (Diptera, Calliphoridae). Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, vol. 32, no. 13, p. 145-182.
  • Frederickx, C., Dekeirsschieter, J., Verheggen, FJ. and Haubruge, E., 2013. The community of Hymenoptera parasitizing necrophagous Diptera in an urban biotope. Journal of Insect Science (Online), vol. 13, no. 32, p. 1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1673/031.013.3201. PMid:23895458
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1673/031.013.3201
  • Holdaway, FG. and Evans, AC., 1930. Parasitism a stimulus to pupation: in relation to the host Alysia manducatorLucilia sericata.Nature, vol. 125, no. 3155, p. 598-599. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/125598a0.
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/125598a0
  • Legner, EF. and Olton, GS., 1968. Activity of parasites from diptera: Musca domestica, Stomoxys calcitrans, and species of Fannia, Muscina, and . Ophyra II. At sites in the Eastern Hemisphere and Pacific areaAnnals of the Entomological Society of America, vol. 61, no. 5, p. 1306-1314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aesa/61.5.1306. PMid:5758059
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aesa/61.5.1306
  • Moura, MO., Carvalho, CJ. and Monteiro-Filho, ELA., 1997. A preliminary analysis of insects of medico-legal importance in Curitiba, State of Paraná. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, vol. 92, no. 2, p. 269-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761997000200023. PMid:9332590
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761997000200023
  • Olton, GS. and Legner, EF., 1974. Biology of . Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), parasitoid of synanthropic DipteraCanadian Entomologist, vol. 106, no. 8, p. 785-800. http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/Ent106785-8.
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/Ent106785-8
  • Prinsloo, GL., 1979. On some little-known african Encyrtidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), with new records and descriptions of genera and species. Journal of the Entomological Society of South Africa, vol. 42, no. 1, p. 17-34.
  • Silveira, GAR., Madeira, NG., AZEREDO-ESPIN, AML. and PAVAN, C., 1989. Levantamento de microhimenópteros parasitóides de dípteros de importância médico-veterinária no Brasil. Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, vol. 84, no. 4, p. 505-510. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761989000800089.
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0074-02761989000800089
  • Subba Rao, BR., 1978. A revision of Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) with descriptions of four new species. TachinaephagusBulletin of Entomological Research, vol. 68, no. 01, p. 65-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S000748530000715X.
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S000748530000715X
  • Turchetto, M. and Vanin, S., 2004. Forensic evaluations on a crime case with monospecific necrophagous fly population infected by two parasitoid species. Anil Aggrawals Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 12-18.
  • Vairo, KP., Corrêa, RC., Lecheta, MC., Caneparo, MF., Mise, KM., Preti, D., Carvalho, CJ., Almeida, LM. and Moura, MO., 2015. Forensic use of a subtropical blowfly: the first case indicating minimum postmortem interval (mPMI) in southern Brazil and first record of Sarconesia chlorogaster from a human corpse. Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 60, supplement 1, p. S257-S260. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12596. PMid:25425207
    » http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12596
  • (With 1 figure)

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    May 2015

History

  • Received
    09 Oct 2014
  • Accepted
    07 Nov 2014
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