Protocalliphora

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Protocalliphora
Protocalliphora.azurea2.-.lindsey.jpg
Protocalliphora azurea
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Calliphoridae
Subfamily: Chrysomyinae
Genus: Protocalliphora
Hough, 1899 [1]
Type species
Musca azurea [2]
Fallén, 1817

Protocalliphora or bird blowflies are a blow fly genus containing many species which are obligate parasites of birds. [3] Eggs are laid in bird nests. After hatching, the larvae suck the blood of nestlings. They sometimes feed inside the nostrils of nestling birds and destroy the tissue at the base leading to reduced growth of the upper mandible and the young growing with "shovel-beaks". [4] The species overwinter as adults. [5]

The genus is affected by Wolbachia bacteria and it has been suggested that horizontal gene transfer may have led to the difficulty in separating species of Protocalliphora through DNA barcoding, with several species possessing identical mtDNA Cytochrome oxidase I sequences. [6]

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<i>Calliphora livida</i> Species of fly

Calliphora livida is a member of the family Calliphoridae, the blow flies. This large family includes the genus Calliphora, the "blue bottle flies". This genus is important in the field of forensic entomology because of its value in post-mortem interval estimation.

<i>Lucilia coeruleiviridis</i> Species of fly

Lucilia coeruleiviridis, formerly Phaenecia coeruleiviridis, is commonly known as a green bottle fly, because of its metallic blue-green thorax and abdomen. L. coeruleiviridis was first discovered by French entomologist Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart in 1855. It belongs to the family Calliphoridae and is one of many forensically important Diptera, as it is often found on decaying substances. L. coeruleiviridis is one of the most ubiquitous blow fly species in the southeastern United States, particularly in the spring and fall months.

<i>Protophormia terraenovae</i> Species of fly

Protophormia terraenovae is commonly called northern blowfly, blue-bottle fly or blue-assed fly. It is distinguished by its deep blue coloration and large size and is an important species throughout the Northern Hemisphere. This fly is notable for its economic effect as a myiasis pest of livestock and its antibiotic benefits in maggot therapy. Also of interest is P. terraenovae’s importance in forensic investigations: because of their temperature-dependent development and their prominent presence on corpses, the larvae of this species are useful in minimum post-mortem interval (mPMI) determination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesembrinellidae</span> Family of flies

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References

  1. Hough, Garry de N. (1899). "Some North American genera of the dipterous group, Calliphorinae Girschner". Entomological News. American Entomological Society. 10: 62–66. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  2. Sabrosky, C. W. (1989). "Protocalliphora Hough 1899 (Insecta, Diptera) and its type species Musca azurea Fallén 1817: proposed conservation of usage by designation of a replacement lectotype". The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 46: 126–129. doi: 10.5962/bhl.part.508 .
  3. Sabrosky, Curtis W.; Bennett, Gordon F.; Whitworth, Terry L. (1989). Bird blow-flies (Protocalliphora) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in North America with Notes on the Palearctic Species. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. pp.  1–311. ISBN   9780874748659 . Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  4. McClure, H. Elliott (1962). "Ten Years and 10,000 Birds (Concluded)". Bird-Banding. 33 (2): 69–84. doi:10.2307/4510924. JSTOR   4510924.
  5. Stiner, Frederic M. (1969). "Overwintering by Protocalliphora metallica (Diptera: Calliphoridae)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 62 (5): 1205–1206. doi:10.1093/aesa/62.5.1205a.
  6. Whitworth, T.L; Dawson, R.D; Magalon, H.; Baudry, E. (2007). "DNA barcoding cannot reliably identify species of the blowfly genus Protocalliphora (Diptera: Calliphoridae)". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 274 (1619): 1731–1739. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.0062. PMC   2493573 . PMID   2493573.