Temperature-dependent development of the blow fly Chrysomya pinguis and its significance in estimating postmortem interval

Abstract

Chrysomya pinguis (Walker) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is an endemic Asiatic blow fly species of forensic importance. Chrysomya pinguis is one of the first species to colonize a corpse, especially in high altitude areas during spring and autumn when the ambient temperature is lower. Despite its potential for forensic investigations to estimate the minimum postmortem interval (PMI min ), little is known about the development of C. pinguis . In this study, C. pinguis was collected from the Yangtze River Delta region of China and reared at seven constant temperatures between 16°C and 34°C to investigate the effect of temperature on development duration, accumulated degree hours and larval body length of C. pinguis . Isomorphen and isomegalen diagrams for C. pinguis were generated using the results, and equations describing the variation in larval body length during development and the temperature-induced variation in development time were also obtained. Chrysomya pinguis can complete its life cycle at 16–34°C. The mean (±s.d.) developmental durations of C. pinguis from egg to adult at 16°C, 19°C, 22°C, 25°C, 28°C, 31°C and 34°C were 811.0 ± 3.8, 544.8 ± 2.0, 379.8 ± 1.8, 306.7 ± 2.4, 250.0 ± 2.8, 203.2 ± 2.1 and 185.3 ± 1.6 h, respectively. The mean (±s.e.) developmental threshold temperature D 0 and the thermal summation constant K of the whole developmental process of C. pinguis were estimated as 10.88 ± 0.21°C and 4256.50 ± 104.50 degree hours, respectively. This study provides fundamental development data for the use of C. pinguis to estimate PMI min .

The Effect of Rearing Scale and Density on the Growth and Nutrient Composition of Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Larvae

“…In other dipteran larvae such as Lucilia sericata, it has been shown that aggregation leads to a shorter development time due to heat production [24]. This aspect of larval growth was intensively investigated in forensic entomology, where the relationship between development time and temperature is used to calculate the age of sampled insects and, thus, estimate the minimum post mortem interval (PMImin) [54]. In BSF production processes, understanding this relationship which was shown to differ among scales and densities, could help optimize the larval growth condition making the larvae production and/or waste processing more time and energy-efficient.…”

Fishing for flies: testing the efficacy of “stink stations” for promoting blow flies as pollinators in mango orchards

“…This was based upon the estimation that at an average temperature in Darwin of ~25°, the most numerous genera of blow fly in northern Australia (Chrysomya spp.) would complete their lifecycle in around 12 days (Byrd & Butler 1997;Zhang et al 2019) and begin egg laying after another 5-7 days (Gabre et al 2005;Hadura et al 2018).…”

Kleptoparasitic interaction between Snow Leopard Panthera uncia and Red Fox Vulpes vulpes suggested by circumstantial evidence in Pin Valley National Park, India

“…The differentiation between different larval stages of blowflies was not done here, so we gave the general time range (23-72 hours) for development from the first instar to the third instar larvae. If we compare the blowfly's larval development between the average temperature range 16°-22°C, then the time taken for the appearance of the first instar to the third instar comes in the range of 52-96 hours (Zhang et al 2019). Therefore, the larvae found on the body of the red fox might be 2-4 days old.…”