Rate of development of forensically-important Dipterain southern Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Rate of development of forensically-important Diptera in southern Brazil. Dipteran larvae were collected from rabbit (Oryctolagus cunniculus L.) carcasses during the four seasons in 2005 in the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The larvae were fed ground beef at ambient temperatures following collection from carcasses. The development of each species under these conditions was estimated. The most abundant species in the carcasses were Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann) and Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Calliphoridae), and they were found in all seasons. The data were fitted to a linear model that describes the relationship between temperature and linear developmental rating. These two species are primary forensic indicators in southern Brazil. Other species such as Hemilucilia semidiaphana (Rondani) (Calliphoridae), Synthesiomyia nudiseta (Wulp), Muscina stabulans (Fallen) (Muscidae), and Fannia pusio (Wiedemann) (Fanniidae) were forensically less important because they only occurred in high frequency in certain seasons and during the first days of carcass decomposition.KEYWORDS. Calliphoridae; degree-day; developmental period; Muscidae. RESUMO. Taxa de desenvolvimento de Diptera de importância forense no sul do Brasil. Larvas de dipterous foram coletadas em carcaças de coelho-doméstico (Oryctolagus cunniculus L.) ao longo das quatro estações de 2005 no extremo-sul do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. As larvas foram alimentadas com carne bovina moída e acondicionadas em temperatura ambiente. O desenvolvimento de cada espécie foi acompanhado nestas condições. As espécies mais abundantes na carcaça foram Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann) e Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Calliphoridae) em todas as estações. Os dados foram ajustados a um modelo linear da relação entre a taxa de desenvolvimento destas espécies e a temperatura média diária do ambiente. Estas duas espécies são as principais indicadoras forense no sul do Brasil. Outras espécies como Hemilucilia semidiaphana (Rondani) (Calliphoridae), Synthesiomyia nudiseta (Wulp), Muscina stabulans (Fallen) (Muscidae) e Fannia pusio (Wiedemann) (Fanniidae) foram menos importantes porque ocorreram em alta abundância em determinadas estações do ano no decorrer dos primeiros dias de decomposição.

The influence of temperature and humidity on abundance and richness of Calliphoridae (Diptera)

“…The pattern of seasonality of L. eximia and C. albiceps observed in this study is in accordance with other studies in the same region (Vianna et al, 1998(Vianna et al, , 2004Souza et al, 2008;Krüger et al, 2010). There was a numerical dominance of L. eximia in winter, spring and autumn while C. albiceps was numerically dominant in summer at all sites, with a marked decrease in the frequency of occurrence of L. eximia in this season.…”

Repellent Action of Carapa guianensis and Caesalpinia ferrea for flies species of Calliphoridae family

“…The flies of the Calliphoridae family captured during this study are common agents causing larval infestations in veterinary medicine. Furthermore, these species have a particular importance in public health, acting as vectors to other pathogens, aggravated by their synantropic nature (CARVALHO & RIBEIRO, 2000).…”

“…After the capture period, the amount and species of the flies within each trap were identified. These were placed in glass vials, frozen at -20°C and compared to the identification key proposed by CARVALHO & RIBEIRO (2000).…”

The effect of environment on development and survival of pupae of the necrophagous fly Ophyra albuquerquei Lopes (Diptera, Muscidae)

“…Temperature changes throughout the day can influence the estimates of PMI, especially when the expert uses models built from constant temperatures (Higley & Haskell 2010;Krüger et al 2010). Many studies of fly developmental rates occur at controlled temperatures (Greenberg 1991;Byrd & Butler 1998;Marchenko 2001;Grassberger & Reiter 2001), without consideration of variation of temperature and its interaction with other abiotic factors (Tachibana & Numata 2004;Nabity et al 2007;Higley & Haskell 2010).…”

“…Many studies of fly developmental rates occur at controlled temperatures (Greenberg 1991;Byrd & Butler 1998;Marchenko 2001;Grassberger & Reiter 2001), without consideration of variation of temperature and its interaction with other abiotic factors (Tachibana & Numata 2004;Nabity et al 2007;Higley & Haskell 2010). It becomes necessary to consider the influence of factors other than temperature on the development of immature stages of carrion flies in order to generate robust models applied to forensic entomology (Campobasso et al 2001;Krüger et al 2010). One of the stages most susceptible to temperature is the pupa, which in most cases occurs in the soil near the corpse (Gomes et al 2006;Zimmer et al 2010).…”