Effect of Psychoactive Drugs on Demographic Parameters of the Blow Fly Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract

Knowledge of the factors influencing the ecology of blow flies, especially the dynamic population equilibrium, is essential in forensic entomology. However, lack of knowledge of the action of psychoactive drugs on the population dynamics of these flies may affect the inferences that experts must make in medico-legal reports. This study evaluated the effects of amphetamine and phenobarbital on the population dynamics of Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann), by combining laboratory experimentation and mathematical modelling. Only amphetamine and its control, methanol, influenced the qualitative dynamic behaviour of Chrysomya albiceps, stabilising chaotic populations. The results are discussed in an ecological and forensic context.