A Systematic Review of Zoonotic Enteric Parasites Carried by Flies, Cockroaches, and Dung Beetles

Filth flies, cockroaches, and dung beetles have been close neighbors with humans and animals throughout our joint histories. However, these insects can also serve as vectors for many zoonotic enteric parasites (ZEPs). Zoonoses by ZEPs remain a paramount public health threat due to our close contact with animals, combined with poor water, sanitation, and hygiene access, services, and behaviors in many global regions. Our objective in this systematic review was to determine which ZEPs have been documented in these vectors, to identify risk factors associated with their transmission, and to provide effectual One Health recommendations for curbing their spread. Using PRISMA guidelines, a total of 85 articles published from 1926 to 2021 were reviewed and included in this study. Qualitative analysis revealed that the most common parasites associated with these insects included, but were not limited to: Ascaris spp., Trichuris spp., Entamoeba spp., and Cryptosporidium spp. Additionally, prominent risk factors discovered in the review, such as poor household and community WASH services, unsafe food handling, and exposure to domestic animals and wildlife, significantly increase parasitic transmission and zoonoses. The risk of insect vector transmission in our shared environments makes it critically important to implement a One Health approach in reducing ZEP transmission.

Free-ranging Van Gelder’s bat Bauerus dubiaquercus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) preying on dung beetles in southern Mexico

We report the first prey species consumed by the free-ranging Van Gelder’s bat Bauerus dubiaquercus. We trapped four pregnant individuals of this species carrying freshly captured dung beetles. We describe the wing morphology and flight descriptors (wing loading and wing aspect ratio) of the species, which presents wings more suitable for capturing insects by aerial hawking, although the evidence suggests that is able to capture dung beetles of nearly 10% of its body mass in flight close to the ground. The species could obtain their prey while foraging on uncluttered pasture near forest edges.

A new species of Cheironitis van Lansberge, 1875 from Jordan (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Onitini)

The genus Cheironitis van Lansberge, 1875, currently contains 23 species from the Old World. During a survey for dung beetles in Jordan, specimens of an undescribed species were collected at the historical site of Petra. A new species of Cheironitis (C. petraensis sp. n.) is described from the historical site of Petra, Jordan, illustrated and compared with its most closely related species. This new species is reminiscent of the African species of Cheironitis living in savannahs and could represent a relictual species of the mid-Holocene climatic optimum.

Taxonomic revision of the Deltohyboma Lane, 1946 gilli species group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Deltochilum)

The dung beetles belonging to the genus Deltochilum Eschscholtz, 1822 are widely distributed in the Neotropical region. This genus is divided into eight subgenera, of these, the subgenus Deltohyboma Lane, 1946 is the most diverse, with an estimated 212 species. The most recent revision of Deltohyboma divided the subgenus into 19 species group. Here, taxonomy of the gilli species group is revised. Four new species (D. jocelynae sp. nov., D. nonstriatum sp. nov., D. quasistriatum sp. nov. and D. tenuistriatum sp. nov.) are described, making a total of five species within the species group. Keys for species identification and habitus as well as male genitalia morphology are illustrated.