Effect of Temperature and Tissue Type on the Development of the Forensic Fly Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract

Chrysomya megacephala Fabricius is one of the most common myiasis-causing and carrion-feeding fly species in the tropics. This species has a worldwide distribution due to globalization and therefore is of critical importance to the public health sector and forensic investigations. Development studies carried worldwide show that Ch. megacephala reared at similar temperatures may require different amounts of time to complete their cycle of growth. The present study determined for the first time the life-history information of this species in Sri Lanka. Chrysomya megacephala colonies were reared on three different food sources (bovine muscle, swine muscle, and swine liver) considering the most common forensic entomology rearing mediums and the capability of Ch. megacephala to cause myiasis in cattle. Furthermore, colonies were reared at four temperature regimes representing several specific development conditions of this blowfly: 1) 20°C representing the estimation of the lower developmental threshold for this species in Sri Lanka; 2) 25 and 27°C representing typical room/environmental temperatures in Sri Lanka; and 3) 38°C as this is the typical living animal temperature, representing myiasis conditions. Results show that temperature significantly affected larval length and width over time; however, tissue type was not a significant factor. The fastest development was recorded at 38°C for immature feeding on bovine muscle (162.15 h), followed by those fed swine liver (184.15 h) and swine muscle (208.00 h). The calculated minimum temperature threshold for Ch. megacephala was 13°C. Data generated will be crucial for future forensic investigations involving living or deceased individuals colonized by this species.

Diet Impact on the Development and Survival ofOiceoptoma thoracicum(Coleoptera: Silphidae)

“…Most diet studies involving forensically important insects were performed on Diptera (e.g., Thyssen et al 2014 , Bernhardt et al 2017 , Bambaradeniya et al 2019 , Rogers et al 2021 ), yet current areas of research gradually include necrophagous beetles as well (e.g., Frątczak-Łagiewska et al 2020 , Jakubec et al 2021 , Qubaiová et al 2021 ). The primary interest resides in their longer life cycle, which can sequentially extend the PMI estimation period.…”

A Summary of Concepts, Procedures and Techniques Used by Forensic Entomologists and Proxies

“…Some of the essential studies with length change reference values are available for Ch. megacephala [ 126 , 127 , 128 ], Ch. rufifacies [ 129 , 130 ], Ch.…”

“…albiceps , Protophormia terraenovae (Robineae-Desvoidy), Ch. megacephala , and Liopygia argyrostoma (Robineae-Desvoidy) [ 128 , 132 , 133 ].…”

Lucilia silvarum Meigen (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Is a Primary Colonizer of Domestic Cats (Felis catus)

“…Time of colonization is the period of time between blow fly oviposition, subsequent feeding, and the discovery of the remains, which can be calculated using the development data from laboratory studies [3]. Variables such as temperature [4], type of tissue [5][6][7], alternative food sources [8], photoperiod [9,10], and coexistence with other species [11][12][13] have been found to affect the development of blow fly larvae. Understanding all of these variables is necessary because of the effect they have on the development of blow fly larvae.…”