Biological Strategies of Dermestes maculatus DeGeer (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) at Larval Stages in Different Temperatures.

The intraspecific variation in larval instars is a widely distributed phenomenon amongst holometabolous insects. Several factors can affect the number of instars, such as temperature, humidity, and density. Only a few references could be found in the literature because the invariability in the number of larval instars is considered normal, and the issue has raised little to no interest.

Active Search on Carcasses versus Pitfall Traps: a Comparison of Sampling Methods.

The study of insect succession in cadavers and the classification of arthropods have mostly been done by placing a carcass in a cage, protected from vertebrate scavengers, which is then visited periodically. An alternative is to use specific traps. Few studies on carrion ecology and forensic entomology involving the carcasses of large vertebrates have employed pitfall traps.

The Effect of Temperature and Laboratory Rearing Conditions on the Development of Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae).

Experiments were conducted to study the life cycle of Dermestes maculatus and to establish the total developmental time and the developmental time of immature stages, in relation with six different temperatures. We also analyzed the variations in size, morphology, and other indicators of temporal variation during life cycle of D. maculatus, in relation with temperature.

Associational Patterns of Scavenger Beetles to Decomposition Stages.

Beetles associated with carrion play an important role in recycling organic matter in an ecosystem. Four experiments on decomposition, one per season, were conducted in a semirural area in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Melyridae are reported for the first time of forensic interest.

Marks caused by the scavenging activity of Necrobia rufipes (Coleoptera: Cleridae) under laboratory conditions.

Insects are an important group involved in carrion consumption and are thus of forensic interest. In the laboratory we studied the taphonomic marks that Necrobia rufipes (Cleridae) can produce. Pig trotters were exposed to adult beetles at 21 ± 3 °C and 12:12 h day/night cycle.

Taphonomic marks on pig tissue due to cadaveric Coleoptera activity under controlled conditions.

The aim of this work was to study taphonomic marks that cadaveric coleopteran can produce under controlled conditions. To evaluate this, pig trotters were initially exposed to adults of Dermestes maculatus De Geer at 21 ± 5°C and a 12:12-h day/night cycle. Observations were made and photographs taken every 4-5 days for 9 months.

Cholinesterase activity during embryonic development in the blood-feeding bug Triatoma patagonica.

Triatoma patagonica Del Ponte (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), a vector of Chagas' disease, is widely distributed in Argentina and is found in sylvatic and peridomiciliary ecotopes, as well as occasionally in human dwellings after the chemical control of Triatoma infestans. Anti-cholinesteratic products can be applied in peridomiciliary areas and thus knowledge of cholinesterase activity during embryonic development in this species might contribute further information relevant to effective chemical control. Cholinesterase activity was characterized by reactions to eserine 10(-5) m, to increasing concentrations of substrate and to varying centrifugal speeds.

[Acanthamoeba sp. keratitis: first case confirmed by isolation and molecular typification in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina].

Some species of the Acanthamoeba genus cause keratitis, a very painful, most likely unilateral corneal infection , associated with eye and vision impairment. We here present a case of a 31-year-old female patient, a regular user of soft contact lenses without good practices of lens hygiene and handling. The patient attended medical consultation after two months of inflammation and pain in her right eye.

[Human myiasis in Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Period 2000 / 2005].

Myiasis is the infestation of live human and vertebrate animals with dipterous larvae which, at least for a short period, feed on the host's dead or living tissue, liquid body-substance, or ingested food. The objective of this study was to identify the flies producing myiasis in Bahía Blanca city, Argentina, from 01/03/2000 to 31/05/2005. Seventeen clinical cases were studied.

Human cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis in Santiago del Estero, Argentina: identification of parasites by monoclonal antibodies and isoenzymes.

Diagnostic and parasite characterization and identification studies were carried out in human patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis lesions in Santiago del Estero, Northern Province of Argentina. Diagnostic procedures were biopsies of lesions for smears and inoculations in hamster, needle aspirations of material from ulcers for "in vitro" cultures. Immunodiagnostic techniques applied were IFAT-IgG and Montenegro skin test.