This study aimed to provide the first checklist of forensically-important dipteran species in a rainforest environment in Northeastern Brazil, a region exposed to high rates of homicides. Using a decomposing pig, Sus scrofa L. (Artiodactyla: Suidae), carcass as a model, adult flies were collected immediately after death and in the early stages of carcass decomposition. To confirm actual colonization of the carcass, insects that completed their larval development on the resource were also collected and reared until adult stage. A diverse assemblage of dipterans composed of at least 28 species from seven families with necrophagous habits was observed within minutes after death. Besides Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae, species from forensically-important families such as Phoridae, Anthomyiidae, and Fanniidae were also registered. Eleven species were shown to complete their development on the carcass. The majority of individuals emerged from larvae collected at the dry stage of decomposition. Hemilucilia segmentaria Fabricius (Diptera: Calliphoridae), H. semidiaphana (Rondani), and Ophyra chalcogaster (Wiedemann) (Muscidae) were the dominant species among the colonizers, which supports their importance as forensic evidence in Brazil.
Cities in northeastern Brazil experience extreme rates of unsolved homicides, a situation that stimulates innovative procedures in the police work, such as forensic entomology. We surveyed necrophagous insects associated with carrion in a city exposed to high rates of homicides in Northeastern Brazil. The experiments were carried out in a rainforest fragment located in Recife, State of Pernambuco. Two pig carcasses were used as models, one in the dry and the other in the rainy season. The collection of adults was performed daily until the complete skeletonization of the carcasses. At least 32 Diptera species from the families Calliphoridae, Muscidae, Sarcophagidae, Fanniidae, Phoridae, Anthomyiidae, Piophilidae, and Stratiomyidae were registered, some of which have been previously documented on cadavers. A high richness of Diptera species was registered in all stages of decomposition. A strong overlap in the occurrence of most species was observed, which invalidates a defined entomological succession on the carcasses. Two species stood out in terms of abundance: Ophyra chalcogaster (Muscidae) and Chrysomya albiceps (Calliphoridae). The ubiquity of Hemilucilia semidiaphana (Calliphoridae) seems to confirm its preference for forest fragments exposed to low anthropogenic action. Our data contribute to expand the knowledge on the geographical distribution of forensically relevant species in the region and confirm the rapid dissemination of invasive Chrysomya species in forested areas.
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