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Estimating the age of immature Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae), correcting for temperature and geographical latitude

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Abstract

Developmental curves for Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) were established at 13 different constant temperatures using developmental landmarks and length as measures of age. The thermal summation constants (K) and developmental zeros (D 0) were calculated for five developmental landmarks using the method described by Ikemoto and Takai (Environ Entomol 29:671–682, 2000). Comparison with the K and D 0 values of our findings to those of three previously published studies of C. albiceps suggests that K is directly proportional to geographic latitude, and D 0 is inversely proportional to both K and geographic latitude. Body size and developmental landmarks have a complex relationship because of trade-offs between mortality risk and female fecundity (as measured by body size) at non-optimal temperatures. This relationship can be summarized using superimposed isomorphen and isomegalen diagrams, which can then be used to make forensic estimates of postmortem intervals from larval body lengths. Finally, we recommend that future studies providing data for precise forensic estimates of postmortem intervals should use a relative temporal precision of about 10% of the total duration being measured. For many blowflies, this translates into a sampling interval of approximately every 2 h before hatching, 3 h before first ecdysis and 6 h before second ecdysis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Sue Abraham for assistance with graphics, Kierryn Gendall for laboratory assistance, the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) and Rhodes University for financing this project. Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author 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

    Cameron S. Richards, Iain D. Paterson & Martin H. Villet

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  1. Cameron S. Richards
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  2. Iain D. Paterson
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  3. Martin H. Villet
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Correspondence to Martin H. Villet.

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Richards, C.S., Paterson, I.D. & Villet, M.H. Estimating the age of immature Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae), correcting for temperature and geographical latitude. Int J Legal Med 122, 271–279 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-007-0201-7

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