Calliphora vicina

Another invasive blowfly species in South Africa is the European species Calliphora vicina Meigen. C. vicina was first recorded in South Africa in 1965, when a specimen was collected in Johannesburg, and again in 1967 and 1969, in Benoni near Johannesburg International Airport. In 1976 two specimens were caught in Cape Town by Prins, but were not recognised as C. vicina until 2004. There are no other records of this species until 2001 when a specimen was caught in Witbank, about 100 km east of Johannesburg International Airport (Fig. 2). Two issues arise from these records. First, it is apparent that in addition to harbours, airports also serve as entry points for invasive fly species. Chrysomya species has been found in the luggage holds of aircraft, and larvae have been found in dried meat and fish arriving at Houston Airport, Texas (Laurence 1981, 1986). Second, the gap in the record of specimens from 1976 to 2001 almost certainly reflects erratic collecting and monitoring, as well as the misidentification of C. vicina as the similar indigenous species C. croceipalpis, rather than the disappearance of the species and its subsequent reintroduction.

C. vicina is a forensically important blowfly in Europe and the New World (Davies 1999; Amendt et al. 2000; Centeno et al. 2002). It thus has the potential to become a forensically useful fly if it becomes established in South Africa. It is therefore important that the distribution of this fly be well monitored so that its potential use in forensic investigations is not overlooked.