Preliminary Study on the Larval Development of Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) on Different Types of Substrates Used as Reference in Forensic Entomology

Abstract

Necrophagous insects are indicators of corpse decay. Analyses of their development stages give us indications on the degree of decay of corpses and contribute to the determination of the post-mortem interval. The differences in structure, biochemical composition and nutritive capacity of the cadaveric substratum can impair the duration of the developmental stages and dimensions of the organisms that metamorphose. This work tackles the study of the development, in laboratory conditions, of Calliphora vicina in correlation with different nutritive substrates (from areas of the corpse strongly affected by the incipient attack of Diptera) in order to obtain preliminary data, aiming to determine the post-mortem interval.