Temporal distribution of ten calyptrate dipteran species of medicolegal importance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Brazilian studies involving entomological succession patterns in carcasses have been used to describe the necrophagous entomofauna of a determined municipality or region with forensic objectives. Following the same objectives, an ecological study with 10 calyptrate dipterans was carried out during the winter of 2007 and the summer of 2008 in the metropolitan region of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. The aim of this study was to describe several aspects of the phenology of these species in three neighbouring areas. Carcasses of three domestic pigs (Sus scrofa L.) were used in each season as models for forensic and legal medicine investigations in the region. Temperature, relative humidity and rainfall were measured daily and their relations with population abundance of the colonising species and the decomposition stages were analysed. Ten fly species were recorded to be colonising the carcasses, five of which belonged to the Calliphoridae family, three to the Muscidae, one to the Fanniidae and one to the Sarcophagidae family. Data show preferences of these species for climatic season and decomposition stage, as well as for the studied area and suggest that short distances can significantly influence the abundance of some species.

Redescrição de três espécies de Artemita Walker (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) do Brasil / Redescription of three species of Artemita Walker (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) from Brazil

Os Stratiomyidae do gênero Artemita Walker 1854 estão representados na Região Neotropical por 14 espécies, das quais 6 ocorrem no Brasil. O conhecimento sobre a morfologia das espécies ainda precisa ser trabalhado. Neste estudo, macho e fêmea de A. brasiliana Lindner, 1964 e as fêmeas de A. convexa (Walker, 1854) e A. hieroglyphica (Wiedemann, 1830) são redescritos, com descrição de suas terminálias.

The Stratiomyidae genus Artemita Walker 1854 is represented in the Neotropical Region by 14 species, 6 of which occur in Brazil. The knowledge on the morphology of the species must still be worked. In the present study, male and female of A. brasiliana Lindner, 1964 and females of A. convexa (Walker, 1854) and A. hieroglyphica (Wiedemann, 1830) are redescribed, with the description of their terminalia.