title: Larval development rates of Chrysomya rufifacies Macquart, 1842 (Diptera: Calliphoridae) within its native range in South-East Asia.
abstract: Chrysomya rufifacies represents an important indicator species in forensic entomology that is often used to estimate the minimum postmortem interval (PMImin) in crime scene investigation. However, developmental rates differ locally, so that estimates should be based on regionally generated development data. Therefore, we determined the developmental rates of C. rufifacies within its native range in Thailand under nine constant temperature regimes: 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36 and 39°C. Developmental times from egg to adult varied among the temperatures and were longest at 15°C (618h) and shortest at 33°C (168h). No pupae emerged at 39°C. We used linear regression models to estimate the minimum development threshold temperatures for each life stage: egg stage=9.5°C, first to second instar=10.8°C, second to third instar=11.5°C, third instar to pupariation=11.4°C, pupariation to adults=5.0°C; the minimum threshold to complete all larvae stages was 11.1°C and to complete all life stages from eggs to adult was 9.5°C. We further generated isomorphen and isomegalen diagrams that can be used to quickly estimate the PMImin for forensic applications.
authors.affiliation: Biological Science Program, Faculty of Science, Burapha University, Chon Buri 20131, Thailand.
authors.forename: Surasuk
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yanmanee
authors.affiliation: General Zoology, Department of Biology, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Husemann
authors.affiliation: Departments of Entomology and of Osteopathic Medical Specialty, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Mark Eric
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Benbow
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Burapha University, Chon Buri 20131, Thailand. Electronic address: guntima@buu.ac.th.
authors.forename: Guntima
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Suwannapong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004175:Diptera / Q000254:growth & development*; D044707:Forensic Sciences; D007814:Larva; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D011679:Pupa; D013696:Temperature; D013785:Thailand
keywords: Development time; Isomegalen diagram; Isomorphen diagram; Minimum threshold temperature