Rate of development and thermal requirements of Chrysomya albiceps ( Diptera: Calliphoridae ) reared under different temperatures and food substrates

Abstract

Insects and other arthropods when associated with decomposing bodies, can provide relevant information to the progress of an investigative process. Among the several application in forensic entomology are the estimation of postmortem interval (PMI), investigation on the cause of death, in particular when is involved cases where the victim consume toxic substances. Factors such as temperature, relative humidity, photoperiod and type of food substrate may alter the insect developmental rate and consequently can cause errors in the estimation of PMI, when these parameters are unknown. Several studies have focused on the development of insects exposed to different temperatures or food substrates, but there are few that observe the combined influence of the two parameters. This study aim to evaluate the development rate of larvae of Chrysomya albiceps under the effect of two variables simultaneously: different animal tissues (intestine, muscle, and liver) in nine temperatures (between 15 and 35°C). Adult colonies will be established from collection in the field. Mass and length of immatures will be measured every 12 hours from hatching to the pupae stage. The data obtained will be used to determine the thermal constant and the minimum threshold development of this species, as well as for elaborate development rate models (of degrees accumulated hours and regression), which will be useful to estimate more accurately the PMI. (AU)