Hymenopteran parasitoids associated with carrion-breeding Diptera: Ecological and forensic importance

Carrion and decomposing animal tissues support complex assemblages of necrophagous Diptera and hymenopteran parasitoids, but the ecological and forensic significance of these trophic interactions remains incompletely characterized. This study analyzed confirmed host–parasitoid associations obtained from bovine kidney, bovine liver, bovine viscera, chicken viscera, fish, and pig carcass. Only records supported by parasitoid emergence from identified dipteran hosts were retained. The dataset comprised 13 dipteran host taxa, 11 hymenopteran parasitoid taxa, six animal-derived resources, 31 unique Host × Parasitoid associations, and 47 resource-resolved associations. Diptera belonged to Calliphoridae, Fanniidae, Muscidae, Phoridae, and Sarcophagidae, whereas parasitoids represented Braconidae, Chalcididae, Diapriidae, Encyrtidae, Figitidae, and Pteromalidae. Peckia chrysostoma (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) showed the broadest host representation, occurring in five resources and interacting with eight parasitoid taxa. Among parasitoids, Nasonia vitripennis (Walker, 1836) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) and Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae (Rondani, 1875) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) exhibited comparatively broad host and resource use. Animal-derived substrates were not ecologically interchangeable, and resource identity added biologically meaningful information to host–parasitoid relationships. Parasitism represents an additional source of mortality for carrion-breeding Diptera and may reduce successful adult emergence from collected puparia, thereby modifying the relative representation of species recovered by laboratory rearing. This process is relevant to forensic entomology because emergence-based evidence may be influenced by parasitoid activity. However, parasitoids should not be interpreted independently as indicators of postmortem interval. Integrating substrate identity, host identity, and confirmed parasitoid emergence provides a more precise framework for interpreting carrion-associated insect communities and for recognizing biological sources of variation in forensic samples. The findings emphasize preserving substrate context when the same host–parasitoid link occurs in multiple decomposing resources. Confirmed parasitoid emergence should be incorporated into interpretation as a modifier of host survival and adult recovery.