title: The effect of dietary fat levels on the size and development of Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae).
abstract: Variation in the type of tissue that larvae feed on can produce marked differences in developmental rate and body size, which can compromise predictions of minimum postmortem interval. A series of experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of fat content in the diet on larval growth in Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), an important forensic blowfly species in China. Bionomical parameters such as body size, development time, mortality, and sex ratio were observed. The results indicated that fat content in the diet has a dramatic effect on the body size and larval development. More dietary fat content was beneficial for development of larvae in first and early second instar. But it was adverse in the later third instar. Significantly, a high-fat diet resulted in increased development rates and the production of undersized larvae and adults. Overall mortality of larvae and pupa was higher when more fat was added to the diet, but sex ratio of adults was not negatively affected. This study highlights that the fat content in the diet should be considered in the entomological research and forensic application when estimating minimum postmortem interval on the basis of larval body size and developmental stage.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Evidence Identification in Universities of Shandong Province(Shandong University of Political Science and Law), Jinan 250014, China.
authors.forename: Xuebo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Yongqiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Genping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Forensic Science, Chongqing Public Security Bureau, Chongqing 400021, China.
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Forensic Science, Chongqing Public Security Bureau, Chongqing 400021, China.
authors.forename: Qingshan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China ccfw@cqmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D002681:China; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004175:Diptera / Q000254:growth & development*; D044707:Forensic Sciences; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development; D012744:Sex Ratio
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats
keywords: Chrysomya megacephala; development; entomology; postmortem interval