New Fly Species Found in Midwest

Researchers have discovered a new species of fly in the Midwest. They say that the new fly could become the dominant in the region and affect the survival of several other organisms. Until now, this species of fly was found only in the southern states.

The fly- Chrysomya megacephala Fabricius (C. megacephala)- was discovered by Christine Picard, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

 "Although I only found a single fly of this species, this is an important event in the area of forensics. Because this fly is not typically found here, we don't know how it develops here, how to use that data or how it could affect the precision and accuracy of forensic investigations," said Picard.

C. megacephala thrives on decaying remains of animals and so could transmit diseases. The fly could also be a threat to native fly population, researchers said.  A specimen of the fly is currently kept at the Purdue University Entomological Collection.

The fly is native to Asia and Africa and was first found in the U.S. in 1988. So far, the fly only lived in the southern states. The drought that occurred in the summer might have led the fly to move to Indiana this year, Picard said.

 "This fly has the potential to become a dominant fly species in this area," Picard said in a news release. "The changing climate conditions show us that we should never really stop collecting samples. We will be on the lookout this summer for more of this particular fly."

An abstract about the research has been submitted to the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington and can be read here.