Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and the house fly (Diptera: Muscidae) are filth flies of medical importance, and control of their population is needed. As insecticide applications have resulted in fly resistance, and the exploration of plant essential oils (EOs) has increased against filth flies, this study assessed the combination of EOs with pyrethoids to enhance toxic efficacy. The EOs of five effective plants were screened initially against the house fly (Musca domestica L.). Their chemical constituent was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The main components of Boesenbergia rotunda (Zingiberaceae) rhizome, Curcuma longa (Zingiberaceae) rhizome, Citrus hystrix (Rutaceae) fruit peel, Ocimum gratissimum (Lamiaceae) seed, and Zanthoxylum limonella (Rutaceae) fruit were δ-3-caren (35.25%), β-turmerone (51.68%), β-pinene (26.56%), p-cumic aldehyde (58.21%), and dipentene (60.22%), respectively. The screening test revealed that the three most effective plant EOs were from B. rotunda, C. longa and O. gratissimum, which were selected for the combination with two pyrethroid insecticides (permethrin and deltamethrin), in order to enhance their synergistic efficacy against the blow flies, Chrysomya megacephala Fabricius, Chrysomya rufifacies Macquart, and Lucilia cuprina Wiedemann, and the house fly. Synergistic action was presented in almost all of the flies tested with permenthrin/deltamethrin/EOs mixtures. It was interesting that the combination of deltamethrin with three EOs showed a synergistic effect on all of the tested flies. However, an antagonistic effect was observed in C. megacephala and M. domestica treated with permethrin-B. rotunda and C. megacephala treated with permethrin-O. gratissimum. The LD50 of insecticides decreased when combined with plant EOs. This alternative strategy will be helpful in developing a formula for effective fly control management.

This is the first study to report Chrysomya pinguis (Walker) and Lucilia porphyrina (Walker) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) as forensically important blow fly species from human cadavers in Thailand, in addition to Chrysomya villeneuvi (Patton) already known in Thailand. In 2016, a fully decomposed body of an unknown adult male was discovered in a high mountainous forest during winter in Chiang Mai province. The remains were infested heavily with thousands of blow fly larvae feeding simultaneously on them. Morphological identification of adults reared from the larvae, and molecular analysis based on sequencing of 1,247 bp partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (CO1) of the larvae and puparia, confirmed the above mentioned 3 species. The approving forensic fly evidence by molecular approach was described for the first time in Thailand. Moreover, neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis of the CO1 was performed to compare the relatedness of the species, thereby affirming the accuracy of identification. As species of entomofauna varies among cases in different geographic and climatic circumstances, C. pinguis and L. porphyrina were added to the list of Thai forensic entomology caseworks, including colonizers of human remains in open, high mountainous areas during winter. Further research should focus on these 3 species, for which no developmental data are currently available.

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