Incubation interval and egg survival rate of the forensically important species Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) from two populations exposed in indoor and outdoor environments
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Jenifer Reis Vergilio
[1]
;
Leticia Bianca Santos
[1]
;
Matheus Salustio Campista Petrucci
[1]
;
Tais Madeira-Ott
[1]
;
Aline Marrara Prado
[1]
;
Patricia Jacqueline Thyssen
[1]
-
[1] Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Brasil
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- Localización: EntomoBrasilis, ISSN-e 1983-0572, Vol. 19, nº 19, 2026
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
Information on insect development has been used to estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI) in the forensic field. The necrophagous and widely distributed blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), is commonly found on corpses in the early stages of decomposition. For this reason, it is among the key species in bionomics studies aimed at providing data to reliably estimate the PMI. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the incubation time and survival in the egg stage of two populations of L. cuprinain two environments (indoor and outdoor). To establish fly colonies in the laboratory, adult specimens were actively collected in the field in Campinas and Pelotas, Brazil, using putrefied bovine liver as bait. All experimental groups were assembled in triplicate. Additionally, the local temperature and relative humidity were measured at 2-hour intervals throughout the experiment. Incubation time (F= 1.333; p< 0.05) and the number of hatched larvae (F= 0.028; p> 0.01) did not differ significantly between populations. However, for each of the populations, larval hatching intervals differed markedly between indoor and outdoor environments (F= 1.143; p< 0.05). The influence of environmental and genetic factors on the development rate of forensically important species has been only incipiently explored at the egg stage. In addition to filling a knowledge gap, the results obtained in this study may be useful for estimating the PMI, especially if the eggs constitute the only evidence at the crime scene.
