Wellington Thadeu de Alcantara Azevedo

The Atlantic Forest is a highly diverse biome that is under constant pressure due to human action, resulting in habitat fragmentation and intensifying edge effects, affecting biodiversity. The aim was to study the edge effect and influence of biotic and abiotic parameters on Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae communities in Três Picos State Park. Two traps baited using beef liver were placed at each site (n = 5) across 1000 m from the edge toward the interior of the forest, with vegetal characterization at each point. Collections occurred between June 2021 and May 2023, encompassing each season twice. The dipterans were identified taxonomically using a stereoscope microscope with the aid of taxonomic keys, totaling 5476 specimens. Dipteran abundance and species composition were primarily influenced by seasonal variation, while the distance from the forest edge or vegetation structure showed no effect. Abundance peaked during warmer periods, and temperature showed a positive effect on overall dipteran abundance. No species showed a strong association with specific seasons or distance along the edge–interior gradient. These results indicate that, in a relatively continuous and well-preserved forest remnant, edge effects do not lead to significant species loss, and climatic seasonality shapes patterns of dominance and abundance. Our findings highlight the ecological stability of the studied conservation unit and support the use of Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae as effective bioindicators. Understanding how dipteran assemblages respond to seasonal and edge-related gradients contributes to the development of cost-effective biomonitoring tools for tropical forest conservation.

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) exhibit vertical stratification patterns in forest environments, a fundamental ecological aspect for understanding niche occupation patterns, host-seeking behavior, and consequently arbovirus transmission mechanisms. Despite the relevance of this topic, available studies mostly focus on genera such as Aedes, Haemagogus, and Sabethes which are traditionally associated with arbovirus transmission. There are still important gaps regarding stratification and seasonality in the Mansoniini tribe, whose biology and epidemiological role remain underexplored, especially in highly biodiverse ecosystems such as the Atlantic Forest. This study evaluated the influence of seasonality and vertical stratification on the mosquito community, with a detailed focus on the Mansoniini tribe, in an Atlantic Forest fragment in Brazil, between May 2023 and December 2024. Captures were performed monthly using CDC light traps positioned at 1.5 m and 10 m heights, and specimens were morphologically identified. A total of 880 mosquitoes from nine genera and 24 species were captured, of which 91 (10.3%) belonged to the Mansoniini tribe. The most abundant species were Coquillettidia fasciolata and Mansonia titillans, recorded in both strata. Our results indicate no marked vertical segregation for the studied mosquito community in this specific location, but a strong influence of seasonality, particularly for the Mansoniini tribe, reinforcing the role of meteorological data on the population structure of these species. These site-specific findings offer a foundational ecological portrait and a robust methodological template for a neglected taxon. They generate critical, testable hypotheses about niche partitioning in fragmented forests and underscore the necessity for broader spatial replication to disentangle the relative influence of seasonal versus vertical drivers in similar ecosystems.

The Atlantic Forest is a biome of great diversity under constant anthropic pressure. This study was conducted in three environments in the state of Rio de Janeiro: rural environment, Seropédica campus (UFRRJ); urban environment, Urca campus (UNIRIO); and forest environment, Três Picos State Park, Cachoeiras de Macacu. We aimed to evaluate the attractiveness of the fauna of Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae by two stages of bait decomposition, study their synantropy, and identify bioindicators for each environment. Four traps were installed at each environment, two containing preserved beef liver and two containing beef liver with 48 h of putrefaction. Samples were collected quarterly, between June 2021 and May 2023. A total of 5476 dipterans were collected, with five Calliphoridae species (77.1%) and 11 Mesembrinellidae (22.9%). Laneella nigripes showed a preference for liver baits with 48 h of putrefaction. Mesembrinellidae species, Hemilucilia benoisti and Paralucilia nigrofacialis were asynanthropic, occurring exclusively in the forest environment. Hemilucilia segmentaria and H. semidiaphana were also asynanthropic, but occurred in urban and/or rural environments. Chrysomya and Cochliomyia genera and Lucilia cuprina were synanthropes. Eight potentially bioindicator species were identified for the forest environment and four for rural environments.

Dipterans of the Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae families are of high relevance in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro, and it is important to examine their diversity and abundance in the different ecological areas of this biome over a time interval. This study aimed to study the diversity and abundance of Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae by evaluating the sexual variation and the influence of abiotic factors (average temperature, relative humidity and total precipitation) on the capture of insects collected during the four seasons of the year. Four traps were installed in each ecological area containing 300 grams of beef liver as attractive bait, which remained exposed for 48 hours in each season during the period between autumn 2021 and summer 2022. The collected dipterans were sacrificed, sent to the Laboratório de Estudos de Dípteros (LED-UNIRIO), and taxonomically identified. The Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon tests were used to examine the influence of the four seasons on the abundance, and the Spearman correlation was used to relate abundance to abiotic variables. A total of 2,826 dipterans were collected during the four seasons of the year, represented by nine species of the Calliphoridae family and ten of the Mesembrinellidae family. During the summer, a numerically larger amount of insects was collected, but the Kruskal-Wallis test (chi-square = 5.2781, p = 0.1525) showed there was no significant difference between the abundance of the species collected and the seasons. Spearman’s correlation showed that most species did not show a significant correlation between their respective abundances and the analyzed abiotic factors. The Wilcoxon test indicated that there is a significant difference between the abundance of females and males, with females being significantly more abundant than males, however the difference is statistically greater within the Calliphoridae family (W = 60.49, p = 5.8x10^-12) in relation to the Mesembrinellidae family (W = 1231.5, p = 0.019).

Calliphoridae are known for their role in nutrient cycling and forensic entomology, as well as transmitting pathogens and causing myiasis. This study aimed to investigate the diversity of Calliphoridae in Campo de Santana, Rio de Janeiro, and assess their response to the type and decomposition time of animal baits. Four traps baited with sardines and 4 with bovine liver at different stages of decomposition (0 h, 48 h, and 96 h) were installed at georeferenced points for 8 h. The procedure was repeated over 4 wk. Insects were stored at −5°C for preservation until taxonomic identification was performed. Statistical analyses were conducted in R Studio, and hypothesis tests were used to evaluate bait attractiveness. A total of 5,483 Calliphoridae were collected, with a predominance of Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius; 1794), Chrysomya putoria (Wiedemann; 1818), and Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann; 1819), and a lower abundance of Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel, 1858), Hemilucilia segmentaria (Fabricius; 1805) and Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann; 1830). Sardine bait at all decomposition intervals showed greater attractiveness compared to bovine liver bait. Sardine bait with 96 h attracted the highest abundance of insects, whereas fresh bait was not attractive. For bovine liver, decomposition time did not significantly influence attractiveness, with 48 and 96 h intervals being equally effective. This study enhances knowledge about the population dynamics of Calliphoridae in Campo de Santana, an important urban park in the city center of Rio de Janeiro. It highlights the predominance of exotic species and the presence of C. hominivorax, known for causing myiasis in the Neotropical region.

Objetivo: Desenvolver uma dieta à base de Agar que permita a alimentação das larvas por até 48 horas. Método: O homogeneizado de pulmão bovino foi adicionado à base de Agar para atender às necessidades nutricionais dos insetos, como grupo controle foi utilizado o Agar sangue. A viabilidade e o crescimento de larvas imaturas de Chrysomya megacephala foram avaliados após 48 horas nas dietas esterilizadas ou não esterilizadas de pulmão bovino/ágar homogeneizado em três diferentes concentrações protéicas: 5%, 10% e 15%. Resultados: a viabilidade larval em diferentes concentrações da dieta artificial de pulmão bovino/ágar homogeneizado foi considerada alta. As dietas testadas apresentaram nutrientes suficientes para as larvas crescerem de 0,334 a 0,533 cm em 48 horas. Conclusão: o Agar sangue pode ser substituído pela dieta alternativa de pulmão bovino/Agar homogeneizado, pois é mais fácil de produzir, mais econômico, prático e nutritivo para as larvas de C. megacephala

Objective: To evaluate the epidemiological and clinical profile of patients with wounds and acceptability to Larval Therapy (LT). Method: Followed 15 patients with chronic wounds and recorded in clinical records. Results: Patients didn’t know LT. Ages varied (45 to 73 y.o.), were black (46.66%), white (26.66%) and yellow (20.00%), predominantly women (73.33%). They had Elementary (53.33%), High (20.00%) and Higher education (26.60%). 60% lived in Rio de Janeiro; Wounds (mean age of 6 years; mean area of 9.4 cm²) in the distal third of the legs (53.00%) and feet (47.00%), with vascular origin (40.88%), pressure (31.69%), diabetic (16.66%) and infectious ulcers (10.77%). Patients had three (20.00%), two (20.00%) or one wound (60.00%), with necrosis (80.00%), infection (37.60%), granulation (50.30%), epithelialization (15.00%), pain (54.00%) and locomotion difficulty (47.00%). Venous insufficiency as the most observed pathological antecedent. Acceptability for LT was 93.33%. Conclusion: LT is an alternative to better quality of life.

Performing quantitative sampling and determining faunistic analyses of dipterans is of fundamental importance in the analysis of ecological behavior, such as population dynamics and diversity, among other factors, for exotic and native species of necrophagous dipterans, so it is important to observe the type of bait used in traps to capture these dipteran species. This work aims to study structural parameters and faunistic indices of the diversity of Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae species as well as the abundance and diversity of species attracted to liver in two stages of decomposition: fresh liver and liver at 48 h of putrefaction. A total of 2826 dipterans were collected during the period from May 2021 to February 2022. We observed that liver in decomposition for 48 h was more attractive in the forest and rural environments, while fresh liver showed greater attractiveness in the urban environment; however, no statistical difference was evidenced between the attractiveness in the different environments. The Mesembrinellidae family and the species Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann, 1819) were collected mostly from deteriorated liver, while Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius, 1775) showed no preference for any liver decomposition stage. The Wilcoxon test indicated that there is a significant difference between the preferences for putrefied bait in Mesembrinellidae, while in Calliphoridae, there was no preference for type of bait. The faunistic analysis showed that richness in the forest area was always higher when compared to the urban and rural areas. Laneela nigripes (Guimarães, 1977) and Mesembrinella bellardiana (Aldrich, 1922) were abundant and exclusive in the preserved environment, showing themselves to be good environmental bioindicators.

The determination of the synanthropic index is essential to evaluate the degree of association between species, such as diptera and man, based solely on their degree of preference for urban areas. This research aimed to study the synanthropic behavior of Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae flies in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The experiment was conducted between 2021 and 2022 in three areas, where four traps containing 300 g of fresh liver or with 48 h of putrefaction were installed, remaining exposed for 48 h; after collection the dipterans were sacrificed and taxonomically identified. A total of 2,826 dipterans were collected, represented by nine species of Calliphoridae (89.24%) and ten of Mesembrinellidae (10.76%), with the first record of Mesembrinella currani in this biome. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the abundance of individuals did not differ among the three analyzed environments. The Mesembrinellidae family was exclusively asynanthrope, along with two species of Calliphoridae: Hemilucilia benoisti (Séguy 1925) and Paralucilia nigrofacialis (Mello 1969) which were exclusive of the forest area, while Calliphoridae had varied synanthropy. Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann 1819) alone represented 57.18% of the total sampled, being the most abundant in all environments except the urban area where Hemilucilia segmentaria (Fabricius 1805) totaled 55.73%. No species were exclusive to the urban area, however Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel 1858) and Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann 1830) were exclusive to the rural area. The most synanthropic species were Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius 1794) and Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann 1819).

Forensic Entomology uses arthropods to aid in legal investigations. This study checked the biological response of Chrysomya putoria pupae to submersion in fresh water for up to 6 d, evaluating the critical submersion time, survival rate, and development time of the flies. Adults were collected using fish baits in two typical traps. Seven hundred and twenty fourth-generation pupae with 2 d of development were used and separated into submergence intervals: 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 h. An additional 120 pupae were used as a control. Each treatment was done in triplicate, consisting of 40 pupae distributed in four tulle-sealed test tubes containing 10 pupae each. All tubes of each treatment were co-adhered in test tube racks and were submerged in mineral water in a container with constant oxygenation, except those of the control group, which were not submerged. The tubes were removed from the water according to their respective submersion interval, until 144 h was completed. The control group had a survival rate of 90%, while the 24-h treatment had 85% and the 48-h treatment had 35.8%. The critical submersion time for pupae was 72 h, with 100% mortality by 144 h. The average development time for the control group was 3.2 d, while the 24- and 48-h treatments developed in 4.3 and 6.3 d, respectively. The longer the individuals were submerged, the lower the survival rate was, while the development time increased. The data obtained in this study have potential in applications to estimate the interval of submersion of a cadaver.