| Popis: |
Sometimes the death scenario of a princess can shed light on a zoological dilemma. This research pointed out that the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), of supposed American origin and acknowledged for Europe just from 1926, was present in Italy several centuries before. We found a larva of H. illucens in the sarcophagus of the Italian Renaissance princess Isabella d'Aragona (1470–1524), raising a question on the real geographical origin of this insect. To attempt a reply, three hypotheses were formulated. First, the black soldier fly probably came from America to Europe not in early ‘900s, but four centuries before. Indeed, the American continent was discovered about thirty years before the death of Isabella and the H. illucens larvae, concealed in decaying animals or foodstuffs, could be accidentally transferred from America to Italy through the Spanish commercial “galleons” visiting the important harbor of Naples. Second, the apparent American origin of H. illucens is not true and the species was native of the Palearctic region, even if it remained unknown until 1926. Third, the fly larva does not belong to H. illucens but to a new close-related species or to a cryptic one. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Hermetiinae insect group including Nearctic and Palearctic species could help to solve this intriguing concern. |
