Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Wohlfahrtia

Posted by Samuel Perry on 17-06-2013 15:47
#1

Are there any keys for adults of Wohlfahrtia (Sarcophagidae)? It's an important pest that causes myiasis in humans and livestock.

Posted by John Carr on 17-06-2013 17:02
#2

Is there more than one species in North America? James and Gassner (1947) recognized two North American species plus the Old World magnifica. The 1965 catalog of North American Diptera says one. Manual of Nearctic Diptera says two species. ITIS catalog says one.

Here is the 1947 key:

1. Second antennal segment black and distinctly shorter than the third; palpi black ... magnifica (Schin.)
1. Second antennal segment orange and approximately equal in length to the third; palpi orange ... 2

2. Abdomen chiefly pollinose, with three longitudinal rows of more or less isolated, shining black spots ... opaca (Coq.)
2. Abdomen chiefly shining black, with isolated pollinose areas in four longitudinal rows, two down the middle of the segments and one on each side ... vigil (Walk.)

The second pair of species may be the same.

Posted by Samuel Perry on 17-06-2013 19:00
#3

Thanks, John! Appreciate the effort. :)