New distribution record for Lucilia cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in Indiana, United States

Abstract

Determining range expansion for insect species is vital in order to evaluate their impact on new ecosystems and communities. This is particularly important for species which could be potentially harmful to humans or domestic animals. Lucilia cuprina Wiedemann (Diptera: Calliphoridae) can act as a facultative ectoparasite and has an extensive history as the primary inducer of sheep-strike in Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. We present here the first record of this species in Indiana, United States. Lucilia cuprina’s range expansion northward in the United States may be indicative of changing environmental conditions conducive to the proliferation of this species into historically cooler climates. The presence of this species could significantly impact forensic death investigations utilizing dipteran larvae to estimate a minimum postmortem interval. If range expansion of this species is not taken into account by a forensic entomologist (especillay if L. cuprina is not known previously in their region), and if this species is misidentified as the closely related species Lucilia sericata Meigen (Diptera: Calliphoridae), an inaccurate minimum postmortem interval (PMIMIN) estimation may be made. Therefore, the range expansion of this fly could have large impacts for many different entomological disciplines.