Community dynamics of carrion flies and their parasitoids in experimental carcasses on Central Argentina

BATTAN HORENSTEIN, M.; SALVO, A.

JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE

UNIV ARIZONA

Lugar: Arizona; Año: 2012 vol. 12 p. 1 - 10

1536-2442

Insects are the predominant group in both species richness and abundance that develop on carrion. Among them, the most important decomposers using carrion as a source of food for their development are the immature stages of the dipteran families Calliphoridae, Muscidae and Sarcophagidae. The large numbers of their larvae in carcasses are attacked by a rich community of parasitoids, including species of Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Parasitica). The objective of this study is to describe the temporal composition and dynamics of the parasitoid community in relation to their dipterans hosts in carrion in terms of number of species and specific composition, irrespective of the particular interactions between species in both trophic levels. We also investigated if the marked seasonality of the climate in the region was a factor structuring the studied communities. The experiments were undertaken in a rural area south of Cordoba city, Argentina, during 2004. Two traps per season were placed separately approximately 300 m from each other in the study site. Each trap contained a domestic pig (Sus scrofa L.) of approximately 8 kg as bait. Samples were taken daily during the first four weeks And then every 2 or 3 days over the following weeks until the end of the experiment. The dipteran community was represented by 15 species in 6 families of calyptratae dipterous whereas parasitoids belong to six families of Parasitica. Climatic seasonality was an important factor in determining the number of species in the carcasses, and also altered community composition. The highest number of species was observed in the spring season for both communities.