Morphological characterization and taxonomic key for first instar larvae of Calliphoridae (Insecta, Diptera, Muscomorpha) species of forensic importance of Brazil

Abstract

Insects of the Order Diptera (Arthropoda: Insecta) are well known in the medical and veterinary fields: due to the diversity of their eating habits, many species can carry pathogens or cause myiasis. Necrophagy, on the other hand, assures them of notorious importance in the forensic context. The Calliphoridae family (Insecta, Diptera, Muscomorpha), with more than a thousand known species, has a wide geographic distribution and is among the first organisms to colonize a corpse, though it may also be associated with all stages of decomposition. The correct identification of species of forensic flies is crucial with regard to the evaluation of the cause of death, to infer whether or not the body was displaced from the place where the crime originally occurred, and to estimate the postmortem interval. For most species, particularly for the immature, the taxonomic keys are scarce, which makes it difficult to identify them to more specific levels. This study aims to describe, illustrate and survey diagnostic characters for elaboration of a taxonomic key for first instar larvae of Calliphora lopesi Mello, 1962, Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819), Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794), Chrysomya putoria (Wiedemann,1818), Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel, 1858), Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius, 1775), Hemilucilia segmentaria (Fabricius, 1805), Hemilucilia semidiaphana (Rondani, 1850), Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830), Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann, 1819), Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826), Paralucilia fulvinota (Bigot, 1877) and Sarconesia chlorogaster (Wiedemann, 1830), totaling 13 species of Calliphoridae recorded as being of forensic importance for the Brazilian territory. It is expected that the results may contribute to minimize the taxonomic impediment existing in the forensic sciences. (AU)