Distribution and abundance of forensically important flies in Santa Clara County

Forensic entomology has become relatively common in criminal investigations, but gaps in knowledge of local dipteran taxonomy have become apparent. These gaps led to a two-year abundance and systematics study of forensically important flies in Santa Clara County.;Four liver-baited traps were placed in each of three habitats within the county, and checked once a week for two years beginning in 2001. The result was 34,389 flies representing eight species: Compsomyiops callipes (Bigot 1877), Phormia regina (Meigen 1826), Pollenia rudis (Fabricus 1794), Lucilia sericata (Meigen 1826), Lucilia mexicana (Macquart 1843), Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann 1826), Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus 1758), and Calliphora latifrons (Hough 1899). Compsomyiops callipes was the most abundant species in the county, while L. mexicana was the least abundant; Lucilia mexicana represents a new species record for Santa Clara County. Six species showed significant habitat preferences depending on season, while P. regina exhibited significant habitat preferences independent of season.