Would Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae) be a beneficial species?

Abstract

Chrysomya albiceps (Widemann) develops on animal carcasses and may cause secondary myiases. An adult female Merino sheep presented a lesion of roughly circular shape with a 7.5cm radius in the anterior part of the thorax. A large number of second-instar larvae was removed from the lesion in addition to first-instar larvae from the wool. A third-instar larva was also obtained from the same lesion site and in the laboratory gave origin to a Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) adult insect. The larvae retrieved from the lesion were nurtured in laboratory. Pairs consisting of 100 individuals were formed with the adult specimens obtained from the larvae and kept in two cages. In all of the 800 adults reared in the laboratory and examined (100 per generation) the propisternal seta was absent in the spiracle on both sides, this trait was highly stable. The 200 larvae examined, 15 per generation, did not present spines in the column of the ventral process of the penultimate abdominal segment and the column of the ventral process was triangular and the apex of the column process presented numerous spines. These characteristics allowed identifying these specimens as C. albiceps. However, since C. albiceps has the ability to damage intact tissues, it may be causing relevant aggravation when associated with C. hominivorax and can not be considered innocuous.

Records of Chrysomya albiceps in Northern Italy: an ecological and forensic perspective

“…Larvae develop in animal carrion, human cadavers and in faeces and they can cause primary and secondary cutaneous myiasis in mammals (Zumpt 1965, Marchenko 1985, Smith 1986, Hall & Smith 1993, Hall & Wall 1995, Paraluppi & Linhares 1995, Queiroz et al 1997, Soler 2000, Adham et al 2001, Madeira 2001, Grassberger et al 2003. Adults of both sexes feed on faeces, carrion and rotting fruit (Martinez-Sanchez et al 2000).…”

Ocorrência e tratamento de miíases cutâneas em ovinos criados em condições semiáridas no norte de Minas Gerais

“…No Brasil, Chrysomya albiceps foi detec-tada em bovinos e ovinos (Oliveira 1985, Madeira 2001, ocorrendo em associação com C. hominivorax em ovinos. Segundo Madeira (2001), as miíases causadas por essa espécie no Brasil podem ser apenas secundárias, não havendo evidências que possam conϐirmar a sua capacidade de iniciar uma lesão no tecido.…”

Records of Chrysomya albiceps in the Ukraine

“…Young larvae feed on the exudates of decomposing matter in which they are laid as eggs, but second and third stage larvae become predatory on the larvae of other Diptera (Omar, 1995; Bartholo et al ., 2002). Larvae can cause primary and secondary cutaneous (traumatic) myiasis in humans and different mammals, often following an initial strike by Lucilia species (Zumpt, 1965; Erzinclioglu & Whitcombe, 1983; Rios et al ., 1983; Smith, 1986; Hall & Smith, 1993; Hall & Farkas, 2000; Soler, 2000; Madeira, 2001). Adults of both sexes feed at faeces, corpses and on fruits (Gonzalez‐Mora & Peris, 1988; Martinez‐Sanchez et al ., 2000).…”