New record of Calliphora spp. (Diptera: Calliphoridae) from the Trans-Himalayan cold arid desert of Kargil Ladakh

Abstract :

Calliphora Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera: Calliphoridae: Calliphorinae), commonly called as blue bottleflies, are important because of their impact on human and animal health which inspired the authors to investigate the diversity, distribution and seasonal abundance of the fly species of Trans-Himalayan cold arid desert of Kargil-Ladakh, as the region has not been explored till date. Preliminarily two species of Calliphora (Diptera: Calliphoridae) have been reported for the first time from the region; the reported species are identified as Calliphora vicina (Desvoidy) and Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus) and are well distributed throughout the study area. Total 770 flies were collected from the study area out of which Calliphora vicina was relatively contributed highest count (89.48%) then Calliphora vomitoria (10.51%). Whereas, seasonal abundance was highest recorded in August (59.67 ± 2.60) followed by September (54.00 ± 2.65) and least were recorded in April (1.66 ±1.66) and no flies were recorded from December to March 2019.


Keyword :

Calliphora vicina, Calliphora vomitoria, Trans-Himalayan, Kargil Ladakh, Spatial distribution, seasonal abundance


Author(s) : Hussain, M., Hussain Mir, A., Tak, H.
Downloads : 39
Published Issue : 2021 Vol. 16 Number 2


2021 Vol. 16 Number 2