title: Tracking movement and temperature selection of larvae of two forensically important blow fly species within a "maggot mass".
abstract: The current study responds to the lack of understanding about the temperatures experienced by individual blow fly larvae within "maggot masses." The temperature selection of both aggregating (in a mass) and nonaggregating larvae was compared and their pattern of movement assessed. Infrared imaging determined the temperatures within a mass and in the vicinity of the constituent individual larvae, whose movements were tracked by dyeing their tissues red. Individual Chrysomya rufifacies larvae selected temperatures above 27°C, significantly higher than the temperature selected by Calliphora vicina larvae (24.5°C). However, this same difference was not seen within a mass, with both species selecting temperatures around 28°C. Larval movement in a mass was nonrandom, indicating that larvae actively select their position in a mass. Furthermore, larvae have a strong tendency to select the hottest part of a mass; therefore, maximum mass temperatures might provide a reliable proxy for the actual temperatures experienced by larvae.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Conservation Biology and Environmental Management, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia.
authors.forename: Aidan P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Samuel J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wighton
authors.forename: James F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wallman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004175:Diptera / Q000502:physiology*; D044707:Forensic Sciences; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature
keywords: Calliphora vicina; Chrysomya rufifacies; forensic entomology; forensic science; maggot mass; path analysis; temperature gradient; temperature selection; thermal regulation