title: Effect of temperature on development of the blowfly, Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae).
abstract: The blowfly Lucilia cuprina is a primary colonizer of decaying vertebrate carrion, and its development provides a temperature-dependent clock that may be used to estimate the post-mortem interval of corpses and carcasses in medicolegal forensic investigations. This study uses the development of L. cuprina raised on a substrate of chicken liver at six constant temperatures from 18 to 33 °C to calibrate a thermal accumulation model of development for forensic applications. Development was optimal near 24 °C; above this temperature, survival of post-feeding life stages was increasingly compromised, while below it, development was increasingly retarded. The lower developmental threshold (~12 °C) and thermal summation constants of L. cuprina are distinct from those reported for Lucilia sericata, verifying that it is essential to identify African Lucilia specimens accurately when using them to estimate post-mortem intervals.
authors: Flies of Economic Significance Research Group, Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa, zanthe.kotze@zoology.up.ac.za.
authors: Zanthé
authors: Z
authors: Kotzé
authors: Martin H
authors: MH
authors: Villet
authors: Christopher W
authors: CW
authors: Weldon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004175:Diptera / Q000254:growth & development*; D004772:Entomology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D007185:Incubators; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D010058:Oviposition; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development; D013696:Temperature
references: J Forensic Sci. 2006 May;51(3):657-63
references: 16696716
references: Med Vet Entomol. 2009 Mar;23(1):56-61
references: 19239614
references: Med Vet Entomol. 1994 Jul;8(3):245-54
references: 7949316
references: Vet Parasitol. 2006 Apr 30;137(3-4):333-44
references: 16464534
references: Zookeys. 2014 Jun 25;(420):69-85
references: 25061373
references: Med Vet Entomol. 2009 Mar;23(1):6-14
references: 19019139
references: J Med Entomol. 1990 May;27(3):338-43
references: 2332878
references: Forensic Sci Int. 2003 Dec 17;138(1-3):50-61
references: 14642719
references: Med Vet Entomol. 2009 Sep;23(3):269-76
references: 19712157
references: Bull Entomol Res. 2005 Jun;95(3):179-86
references: 15960872
references: Int J Legal Med. 2008 Jul;122(4):271-9
references: 17899152
references: J Theor Biol. 1977 Feb 21;64(4):649-70
references: 846210
references: Int J Legal Med. 2014 Jan;128(1):207-20
references: 23974525
references: Int J Legal Med. 2008 Sep;122(5):401-8
references: 18568360
references: Forensic Sci Int. 2008 May 2;177(1):37-41
references: 18079080
references: Forensic Sci Int. 2001 Aug 15;120(1-2):32-6
references: 11457606