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Tabanidae are considered a nuisance to humans, wild animals, and livestock due to their painful, annoying, and insistent biting. Tabanids transmit some pathogens and parasites biologically and mechanically. In humans, there are relatively few pathogens transmitted regularly. Still, tabanids serve as vectors of a number of disease agents of animals, including viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and nematodes. They are more abundant in tropical and humid regions, and their seasonal patterns are affected by habitat changes such as deforestation and fragmentation. Here, we analyze the tabanid fauna in Monte Negro, a central municipality of Rondônia, Brazil, comparing abundance, richness, and diversity in forest and pasture habitats. Traps were set for 5 days a month for 12 consecutive months. We also examined how abiotic factors (humidity, temperature, and rainfall) affected the abundance, diversity, and richness and the effectiveness of Malaise and Nzi traps as sample methods. The influence of climatic variables on the richness and abundance of the species was tested using generalized linear models, and we used non-parametric dimensional scaling (nMDS) for analysis of species composition and diversity in different traps and environments. We collect 1032 specimens of 25 species. The most abundant species were Tabanus antarcticus, Dichelacera tetradelta, Tabanus mucronatus, and Leucotabanus albovarius. Forest habitats had the highest number of tabanids, followed by pasture and the anthropized area, and there was no significant difference regarding the effectiveness of the Malaise and Nzi traps. The study provides new information on the distribution and ecology of tabanids in Brazil.

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Tabanidae (Diptera), popularly known as horse flies, is an important vector group. This is the first study to ascertain the abundance and diversity of horse flies in horses at the cerrado biome of the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Collecting took place in typical Cerrado, and sampling occurred in the dry and rainy seasons. The horseflies were collected from horses using an entomological net. A total of 249 individuals were collected and spread over 25 species. The prevalent species were Stypommisa aripuana (25.8%) and Catachlorops rufescens (6.4%), in the dry period, and Fidena lissorhina (22.5%), Tabanus occidentalis var. dorsovittatus (10%) and Poeciloderas quadripunctatus (6.4%), in the rainy season. The results suggest that tabanids attack horses throughout the dry and rainy seasons, posing a constant threat to their health in the Cerrado of Tocantins.

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Horse fly females (Diptera, Tabanidae) are hematophagous and can vector pathogens that affect livestock. Complexes of cryptic species are common in Tabanidae, as exemplified by some species of Tabanus, including Tabanus triangulum and Tabanus occidentalis, both prevalent in the Southern region of Brazil. In this study, geometric morphometrics were employed to ascertain the wing venation in species identification. It was demonstrated that this tool effectively differentiates T. triangulum from T. occidentalis in the coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul state, situated within the Pampa biome. The results indicate that T. triangulum and T. occidentalis occupy distinct regions of the morphological space, allowing their precise identification through geometric morphometrics, which is fast, affordable, and easy to implement.

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ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of burning on the richness, abundance, and community structure of necrophagous flies in southern Brazil. Flies were collected over a period of seven days in the field, and were subsequently observed for 60 days in the laboratory. There were three bovine liver treatments: unburnt, burnt, and gasoline-treated (control). A total of 2,501 flies, representing 14 families and 41 species, were identified, including Chrysomya albiceps, Fannia subgroup pusio, Synthesiomyia nudiseta, and Fannia femoralis. While the abundance of flies was similar across the three treatments, exhibiting a quadratic distribution, species richness displayed a quadratic trend with a significant temporal shift; peak richness occurred 20 hours earlier in the unburnt liver than in the burnt or the control treatments. Both total abundance and patterns of community composition in our analysis indicated important factors to take into account. Total abundances were similar between the burnt and unburnt treatments, demonstrating a uniform ecological response to burning, irrespective of the condition of the liver. In contrast, the community composition of these treatments showed a significant divergence from the control treatment, which was distinctively dominated by Drosophilidae and Phoridae. These findings are crucial for accurate postmortem Interval (PMI) estimations in forensic entomology, particularly in cases involving burnt remains, and highlight the significant impact of fire on necrophagous fly communities.

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Abstract Tabanidae (Diptera), popularly known as horse flies, is an important vector group. This is the first study to ascertain the abundance and diversity of horse flies in horses at the cerrado biome of the state of Tocantins, Brazil. Collecting took place in typical Cerrado, and sampling occurred in the dry and rainy seasons. The horseflies were collected from horses using an entomological net. A total of 249 individuals were collected and spread over 25 species. The prevalent species were Stypommisa aripuana (25.8%) and Catachlorops rufescens (6.4%), in the dry period, and Fidena lissorhina (22.5%), Tabanus occidentalis var. dorsovittatus (10%) and Poeciloderas quadripunctatus (6.4%), in the rainy season. The results suggest that tabanids attack horses throughout the dry and rainy seasons, posing a constant threat to their health in the Cerrado of Tocantins.

Resumo Os tabanídeos, popularmente conhecidos como mutucas, representam um importante grupo de vetores. Este é o primeiro estudo a verificar a abundância e diversidade de mutucas em cavalos, no bioma cerrado do estado do Tocantins, Brasil. As coletas ocorreram em ambiente típico de Cerrado e as amostragens nos períodos seco e chuvoso. Mutucas foram coletadas de cavalos por meio de rede entomológica. Um total de 249 indivíduos foi coletado, representando 25 espécies. As espécies mais abundantes foram Stypommisa aripuana (25,8%) e Catachlorops rufescens (6,4%), no período seco, e Fidena lissorhina (22,5%), Tabanus occidentalis var. dorsovittatus (10%) e Poeciloderas quadripunctatus (6,4%), no período chuvoso. Os resultados sugerem que os tabanídeos atacam equinos ao longo das estações seca e chuvosa, constituindo uma ameaça constante à sua saúde no Cerrado do Tocantins.

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Abstract Horse fly females (Diptera, Tabanidae) are hematophagous and can vector pathogens that affect livestock. Complexes of cryptic species are common in Tabanidae, as exemplified by some species of Tabanus, including Tabanus triangulum and Tabanus occidentalis, both prevalent in the Southern region of Brazil. In this study, geometric morphometrics were employed to ascertain the wing venation in species identification. It was demonstrated that this tool effectively differentiates T. triangulum from T. occidentalis in the coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul state, situated within the Pampa biome. The results indicate that T. triangulum and T. occidentalis occupy distinct regions of the morphological space, allowing their precise identification through geometric morphometrics, which is fast, affordable, and easy to implement.

Resumo Fêmeas de mutucas (Diptera, Tabanidae) são hematófagas e podem ser vetores de patógenos que afetam animais de criação. Complexos de espécies crípticas são comuns em Tabanidae, como exemplificado por algumas espécies de Tabanus, incluindo Tabanus triangulum e Tabanus occidentalis, ambas prevalentes na região Sul do Brasil. Neste estudo foi utilizada morfometria geométrica para avaliar a venação das asas na identificação de espécies. Foi demonstrada que essa ferramenta diferencia, efetivamente, T. triangulum de T. occidentalis na Planície Costeira do Rio Grande do Sul, situada no bioma Pampa. Os resultados indicam que T. triangulum e T. occidentalis ocupam regiões distintas do espaço morfológico, permitindo sua identificação precisa por meio da morfometria geométrica, a qual é rápida, acessível e fácil de implementar.

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Tabanidae is one of the most diverse families of hematophagous dipterans. Tabanids, in general, are mechanical vectors of some pathogens. Given the vector importance and the lack of knowledge of the tabanid fauna in horses in Amazon Forest fragments of the state of Rondônia, this work aimed to determine the season that the different species of horse flies prefer to carryout hematophagy on horses and verify whether the horse fly community remains the same throughout the year. The sampling areas for tabanid captures were in the municipality of Monte Negro, Western Amazon, Brazil. Four new occurrences were recorded for the state of Rondônia: Stenotabanus albilinearis, Tabanus fuscofasciatus, T. macquarti and T. restrepoensis, which increases the number of species for the state to 109. The horse flies were most frequently collected on the hind leg (43.15%) and front leg (31.11%), followed by the belly (7.41%) and the ear (5.18%). In the other anatomical regions, the collection frequency was 13.15% of the remaining individuals.

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ABSTRACT Larvae of Hydrotaea species are facultative predators of larvae of other fly species on poultry farms, chicken feces, pig, and decaying carcasses. The Neotropical species H. albuquerquei occurs together with M. domestica in these environments and might be useful in the biological control of the latter. To verify the predatory capacity of H. albuquerquei larvae on the larvae of M. domestica, we varied the size of the larvae and the densities of the predators and prey under controlled laboratory conditions. Adults were collected from a poultry farm for the experiment, and the larvae they produced were reared in the laboratory. The second and third instar larvae of H. albuquerquei, when at higher densities, suppressed populations of house fly larvae when the latter were smaller than the former. This means that the functional response increases gradually with an increase in prey population density and predator size. In these conditions, one H. albuquerquei larva consumes up to 29 M. domestica larvae at high prey densities and could reduce 100% of the house fly population under a 50% prey density. This study confirmed a pattern previously observed in other predatory larvae and our results have implications for the biological control and integrated pest management programs of M. domestica in poultry and swine farms.

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Anaplasma marginale is transmitted biologically by infected ticks or mechanically by biting flies and contaminated fomites. In tick-free areas, such as southern Uruguay, horseflies could be the principal vectors of this pathogen for bovines, causing anaplasmosis. The objective of this work was to detect the presence of A. marginale by MSP-5 PCR and Sanger sequencing in the most prevalent species of horseflies obtained using different collection methods in Colonia, Tacuarembó and Paysandú, Uruguay. Eight horsefly species were tested (Dasybasis missionum, Poeciloderas lindneri, Tabanus campestris, T. claripennis, T. fuscofasciatus, T. platensis, T. tacuaremboensis and T. triangulum); four species were found to be positive for A. marginale, with D. missionum and P. lindneri having the most frequent infections, while only one individual each of T. fuscofasciatus and T. tacuaremboensis was positive. Both D. missionum and P. lindneri were positive for A. marginale in tick-free areas, and the implications are discussed in this report.

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Several studies have described the effects of human tumor necrosis factor alpha (hTNF-α) on Schistosoma mansoni. hTNF-α affects the worm's development, metabolism, egg-laying, gene expression and protein phosphorylation. The available data on the influence of hTNF-α on egg-laying in S. mansoni are controversial, but understanding the mechanism of egg-laying regulation in this species is essential in combating schistosomiasis. We characterized the effects of in vitro treatment of S. mansoni adult worms with different doses of hTNF-α (5, 20 and 40 ng/ml) for 5 days. We explored the effects on egg-laying rate, glucose levels, ATP metabolism, and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of lactate dehydrogenase, glucose transporters and the parasite gene which acts as an hTNF-α receptor, SmTNFR. hTNF-α influenced egg-laying in a time- and dose-dependent manner: at a dose of 40 ng/ml, egg-laying increased on day 2 and decreased on days 3 and 4; at 20 ng/ml, egg-laying decreased on day 3; while at 5 ng/ml, egg-laying decreased on day 4. The total number of eggs produced was not affected by the different treatments, but the egg-laying dynamics were: the median egg-laying time decreased significantly with treatment, and egg developmental stages and size were also affected. At 5 and 20 ng/ml hTNF-α, lactate production diminished on day 3 up to day 5, while glucose uptake increased on day 5. At 40 ng/ml, glucose uptake diminished on day 1 up to day 3, while ATP accumulation was detected on day 5. No significant changes in mRNA expression were detected in any of the treatments. We found that crosstalk involving hTNF-α and parasite signaling plays a role in the fine-scale regulation of the worm's metabolism and physiology, and points to new strategies for disease control.

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Lycoriella species (Sciaridae) are responsible for significant economic losses in greenhouse production (e.g., mushrooms, strawberries, and nurseries). The current distributions of species in the genus are restricted to cold-climate countries. Three species of Lycoriella are of particular economic concern in view of their ability to invade areas in countries across the Northern Hemisphere. We used ecological niche models to determine the potential for range expansion under future climate change scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) in the distribution of these three species of Lycoriella. Stable environmental suitability under climate change was a dominant theme in these species; however, potential range increases were noted in key countries (e.g., USA, Brazil, and China). Our results illustrate the potential for range expansion in these species in the Southern Hemisphere, including some of the highest greenhouse production areas in the world.

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The Tocantins-Araguaia Basin is one of the largest river systems in South America, located entirely within Brazilian territory. In the last decades, capital-concentrating activities such as agribusiness, mining, and hydropower promoted extensive changes in land cover, hydrology, and environmental conditions. These changes are jeopardizing the basin's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Threats are escalating as poor environmental policies continue to be formulated, such as environmentally unsustainable hydropower plants, large-scale agriculture for commodity production, and aquaculture with non-native fish. If the current model persists, it will deepen the environmental crisis in the basin, compromising broad conservation goals and social development in the long term. Better policies will require thought and planning to minimize growing threats and ensure the basin's sustainability for future generations.

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A first survey of Muscidae in the State of São Paulo (Southeastern Brazil) is presented here with a one‑year of Malaise trap collecting from August 2010 to July 2011 at the Biological Reserve Alto da Serra de Paranapiacaba (23°46′00′′‑23°47′10′′S, 46°18′20′′‑46°20′40′′W, 750‑891 m of altitude). A total of 1,284 individuals of muscids were collected, and 15 genera and 39 species of Muscidae were identified. So far, only one muscid species had been recorded to the Reserve, which now has its Muscidae diversity increased to 40 species. Thirteen species are new records for the State of São Paulo. With this, the number of species of Muscidae species known to occur in the State of São Paulo is increased to 169. The interval between November and February was higher in number of individuals and number of species. Muscidae presented a seasonal pattern, with more abundance and diversity in that interval. The study area is covered by secondary forest and very close to São Paulo metropolitan area, and the composition of the fauna of Muscidae signalizes this environment changing and anthropic stress with nine species with synanthropic habits, two of them are typically synanthropic species.(AU)

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Abstract A first survey of Muscidae in the State of São Paulo (Southeastern Brazil) is presented here with a one-year of Malaise trap collecting from August 2010 to July 2011 at the Biological Reserve Alto da Serra de Paranapiacaba (23°4600-23°4710S, 46°1820-46°2040W, 750-891 m of altitude). A total of 1,284 individuals of muscids were collected, and 15 genera and 39 species of Muscidae were identified. So far, only one muscid species had been recorded to the Reserve, which now has its Muscidae diversity increased to 40 species. Thirteen species are new records for the State of São Paulo. With this, the number of species of Muscidae species known to occur in the State of São Paulo is increased to 169. The interval between November and February was higher in number of individuals and number of species. Muscidae presented a seasonal pattern, with more abundance and diversity in that interval. The study area is covered by secondary forest and very close to São Paulo metropolitan area, and the composition of the fauna of Muscidae signalizes this environment changing and anthropic stress with nine species with synanthropic habits, two of them are typically synanthropic species.

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Abstract A first survey of Muscidae in the State of São Paulo (Southeastern Brazil) is presented here with a one-year of Malaise trap collecting from August 2010 to July 2011 at the Biological Reserve Alto da Serra de Paranapiacaba (23°46′00″-23°47′10″S, 46°18′20″-46°20′40″W, 750-891 m of altitude). A total of 1,284 individuals of muscids were collected, and 15 genera and 39 species of Muscidae were identified. So far, only one muscid species had been recorded to the Reserve, which now has its Muscidae diversity increased to 40 species. Thirteen species are new records for the State of São Paulo. With this, the number of species of Muscidae species known to occur in the State of São Paulo is increased to 169. The interval between November and February was higher in number of individuals and number of species. Muscidae presented a seasonal pattern, with more abundance and diversity in that interval. The study area is covered by secondary forest and very close to São Paulo metropolitan area, and the composition of the fauna of Muscidae signalizes this environment changing and anthropic stress with nine species with synanthropic habits, two of them are typically synanthropic species.

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ABSTRACT The Brazilian Coastal Plain of the Pampa Biome (CPPB), has suffered fragmentation caused by resource extraction and cattle raising. In turn, conservation proposals are needed to prevent the anthropisation of Pampa natural areas. The first step towards conservation proposals by using insects is fauna inventories, providing data support for legislators. Thus, we undertook a regional and broad-scale sampling survey to investigate the diversity of Muscidae flies in protected and non-protected areas of CPPB. In addition, we carried out an ecological guild diversity analysis as a metric approach of bioindication. The Muscidae sampling resulted in 6314 specimens, 98 species taxa in 31 genera. Based on diversity estimators, our sampling represents 70-86% of all muscids of CPPB. The highest diversity occurs in Pelotas streams (non-protected) and Taim Ecological Station (a huge protected area). Despite the fact these areas are more diversified and present more predatory muscid species than others, invasive species associated with livestock were observed at a higher level, providing evidence of the impact of livestock proximity to protected areas. Based on biological characters of Muscidae species and ecological guild analysis, we were able to identify: (i) high diversity of carnivorous species associated with forested and more preserved areas and (ii) a high level of a few saprophagous species as indicator of anthropisation process. In general, our results represent a significant step towards understanding Muscidae in Southern Brazil, and we demonstrate how the population ecology of muscid flies supports data to conservation proposals.

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Sclerodermus sp. is an aculeate insect (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), measuring 2-4 mm in length. It is a parasitoid and needs termites as hosts to complete its life cycle. It is found in a wide variety of woods and may accidentally sting humans who come near affected wooden objects. A 50-year-old woman presented two episodes of intense pruritic lesions. Clinical diagnosis of insect bite was doubtful since there were no pets at home, lesions had not started during summer and the patient denied rural activities. During a night episode of itching, the patient examined her bed and found 8 insects likely to be responsible for the bites. Scanning electron microscopy revealed typical features of a female of the genus (wingless and with multiple stingers at the lower end of the abdomen).

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Abstract: Sclerodermus sp. is an aculeate insect (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae), measuring 2-4 mm in length. It is a parasitoid and needs termites as hosts to complete its life cycle. It is found in a wide variety of woods and may accidentally sting humans who come near affected wooden objects. A 50-year-old woman presented two episodes of intense pruritic lesions. Clinical diagnosis of insect bite was doubtful since there were no pets at home, lesions had not started during summer and the patient denied rural activities. During a night episode of itching, the patient examined her bed and found 8 insects likely to be responsible for the bites. Scanning electron microscopy revealed typical features of a female of the genus (wingless and with multiple stingers at the lower end of the abdomen).

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Fluctuations in seasonal patterns of horse fly populations were examined in rainforests of tropical South America, where the climate is seasonal. These patterns were evaluated with robust analytical models rather than identifying the main factors that influenced the fluctuations. We examined the seasonality of populations of horse flies in fields and lowland areas of the Pampa biome of southern Brazil with generalized linear models. We also investigated the diversity of these flies and the sampling effort of Malaise traps in this biome over two years. All of the 29 species had clear seasonality with regard to occurrence and abundance, but only seven species were identified as being influenced by temperature and humidity. The sampling was sufficient and the estimated diversity was 10% more than observed. Seasonal trends were synchronized across species and the populations were most abundant between September and March and nearly zero in other months. While previous studies demonstrated that seasonal patterns in population fluctuations are correlated with climatic conditions in horse fly assemblages in South America rainforests, we show a clear effect of each factor on richness and abundance and the seasonality in the prevalence of horse fly assemblages in localities of the Pampa biome.

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Interaction between Musca domestica L. and its predator Muscina stabulans (Fallén) (Diptera, Muscidae): Effects of prey density and food source abundance. The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of prey density and food source abundance on the predatory behavior of Muscina stabulans over M. domestica. Three predator/prey proportions were evaluated (1:1, 1:3 and 1:6), using 100 third instar predator larvae against second instar prey larvae. Each proportion was maintained using three different levels of food substrate (25, 50 and 100 g). The experiments were carried out in triplicate in BOD incubators (25ºC, UR 70% ± 10% and 12 h photoperiod). The mortality of the M. domestica larvae was 100% under all conditions, except in the 1:6 predator/prey proportion, at the 50g and 100g food substrate levels, where it was 99.99% and 99.22%, respectively. There was a significant increase in the development period of M. stabulans in relation to the increase in prey density and decrease in quantity of food substrate. An increase in the proportion of individuals and a reduction in the amount of resource slowed down larval development. Muscina stabulans pupal weight was proportional to the increase in prey density and the amount of food substrate. The proportion or the density influenced the survival of M. stabulans, with no difference in relation to the amount of food source and consequently in the interaction of the factors. There was no difference between the 1:1 and 1:3 predator-prey densities, with both differing from the 1:6 density.