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Development of Thanatophilus micans (Fabricius 1794) (Coleoptera: Silphidae) at constant temperatures

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Abstract

Thanatophilus micans is capable of finding corpses at least as quickly as most fly species and, as the most widespread species of the Silphidae in Africa, offers a useful model for estimating post-mortem interval. Larvae were reared at ten constant temperatures from 15°C to 35°C and their length measured at 4, 8, or 12-h intervals depending on their instar. Length generally increased with increased rearing temperature, but decreased at extremely high temperatures. Note was made of the age at which individuals progressed past developmental milestones. Development took longer at lower temperatures. These results are presented as a combined isomegalen and isomorphen diagram. Developmental constants were generated for each milestone using major axis regression. Developmental threshold values did not differ significantly between milestones. Development took longer than in blow flies, but was faster than in Dermestidae. The three models presented here, therefore, cover an important time frame in estimating minimum PMI once fly larvae have matured to the point of leaving a corpse, and, therefore, provide a tool that was not previously available to forensic entomologists.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Sue Abraham for her assistance in creating the isomegalen/isomorphen diagram; Terence Bellingan, Cameron Richards and Kendall Crous for assistance in the laboratory and Rhodes University and the National Research Foundation for funding. Any opinion, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Research Foundation.

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  1. Southern African Forensic Entomology Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    John M. Midgley & Martin H. Villet

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  1. John M. Midgley
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  2. Martin H. Villet
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Correspondence to John M. Midgley.

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Midgley, J.M., Villet, M.H. Development of Thanatophilus micans (Fabricius 1794) (Coleoptera: Silphidae) at constant temperatures. Int J Legal Med 123, 285–292 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-008-0280-0

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