Impact of Comingled Heterospecific Assemblages on Developmentally Based Estimates of the Post-Mortem Interval—A Study with Lucilia sericata (Meigen) Phormia regina (Meigen) and Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

摘要

In forensic entomology, blow flies are often the first insects to arrive to decomposing remains. The development rates of blow flies are used to estimate the minimum amount of time between death and discovery of the remains, or post-mortem interval (PMI). When there are multiple species of flies interacting on the same remains, there could be changes in the development of the flies. We tested the development of three different species of blow flies in different combinations at different temperatures and measured the development and the rate of growth. One species (Lucilia sericata) grew larger when it developed with the species Phormia regina at certain temperatures. The larvae of Calliphora vicina gained weight slower when interacting with P. regina and P. regina grew faster when interacting with these two other species. Due to these differences in the development rates of the flies, depending on the species they are interacting with, more research is needed to further examine other species combinations and temperatures.