title: The nocturnal ovipositing behavior of carrion flies in Cincinnati, Ohio.
abstract: The behavioral patterns of nocturnal oviposition represent a window of time that potentially has a large impact on postmortem interval estimations. We investigated the behavioral patterns of carrion flies at night by exposing euthanized rats between sunset and sunrise to see if carrion flies oviposited upon the carrion over two consecutive summers. We investigated urban and rural locations, in both lit and unlit conditions with n = 125. We found that nocturnal ovipositing did not occur in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. We conclude that nocturnal oviposition is an unlikely event in the Cincinnati metropolitan area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0006, USA. Stamper@Findlay.edu
authors.forename: Trevor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stamper
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Ronald W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: DeBry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003624:Darkness; D004175:Diptera / Q000502:physiology*; D004772:Entomology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D018732:Forensic Anthropology; D008027:Light; D009820:Ohio; D010058:Oviposition / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats