Synanthropy of Sarcophaginae (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) From Southern Brazil and Its Sanitary Implications

Abstract

Although different feeding habits have been reported for Sarcophaginae (Diptera, Sarcophagidae), most species are associated with decomposing organic matter such as feces and decaying corpses. This study provides the synanthropy index for males of species of Sarcophaginae collected during a 12-mo period in three different environments (urban, rural, and wild) of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Southern Brazil, linking this parameter with the sanitary issue. This article also investigated the presence of pathogenic bacteria on the external surface of Oxysarcodexia paulistanensis (Mattos), the most abundant species collected using a sanitized entomological net. Almost all the species collected most abundantly, including O. paulistanensis (n = 241), Ravinia advena (Walker) (n = 87), and O. thornax (Walker) (n = 58), were classified as synanthropic; O. thornax was the species with the highest synanthropy index (+80.3). Escherichia coli (Escherich), Shigella spp. (Enterobacteriaceae), and Staphylococcus aureus (Rosenbach) (Staphylococcaceae) were isolated and identified from the external surface of O. paulistanensis. The isolation and identification of pathogenic bacteria, and their synanthropic behavior, adds weight to potential role of some flesh flies, as O. paulistanensis, in a sanitary context.

The Impact of the Entomopathogenic Fungus Conidiobolus coronatus on the Free Fatty Acid Profile of the Flesh Fly Sarcophaga argyrostoma

“…As such, they are known as obligatory and facultative parasitoids, predators, and as myiasis-causing factors [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Furthermore, being synanthropic, several Sarcophagidae species may facilitate the mechanical transmission of pathogens to both food and humans; this can have potential consequences for public health [13][14][15].…”