Determining the age of adult flesh flies, Boettcherisca peregrina, using pteridine fluorescence

Abstract

To assess the potential application of pteridine fluorescence in determining the age of adult Boettcherisca peregrina (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) Robineau-Desvoidy and further for the postmortem interval, the age-dependent changes of pteridine fluorescence were investigated for the adults maintained at five constant temperatures. From the results, significant linear relationships were found between pteridine fluorescence and the age of the adults maintained at 16, 20, 24, 28 or 32 °C (P < 0.001, r(2) > 0.85). In addition, the relationships between the rate of pteridine accumulation and temperature were well described using linear equations for adult females and males. Then for each cohort of the flies at the ambient temperature, a calendar was constructed and used to determine the ages of females and males, respectively, in which was recorded in reverse time order the amount of pteridine accumulated per hour by the flies and their expected pteridine level when they emerged at the specified time. A significant linear relationship between estimated ages and chronological ages was observed for female or male adults, with the mean errors of the estimated ages of ±1.82 days for females and ±1.58 days for males. It is suggested that pteridine fluorescence analysis has a potential value in determining the age of adult B. peregrina.

Applications of forensic entomology: overview and update

“…Prowadzono liczne badania na muchówkach w preimaginalnych stadiach rozwoju, dużo rzadziej analizowano natomiast osobniki dorosłe, zwłaszcza w kontekście ich potencjału informacyjnego przy oględzinach miejsca zgonu [121]. Istnieje wiele metod określania wieku dorosłych muchówek, ale niewiele z nich znajduje zastosowanie w medycynie sądowej ze względu na niską precyzję, np.…”

“…Regarding the age-grading techniques, many studies were performed on the pre-adult stages of the flies, while few studies were performed on the adult flies especially because their potential in indoor death-scene investigation [121]. There are numerous methods used for aging adult flies, but few have forensic application with low precision such as cuticular bands and female reproductive physiology.…”

Age determination of the adult blow fly Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) through quantitative pteridine fluorescence analysis

“…The most common insects found on dead bodies are necrophagous flies and their offspring -in cases where the PMI exceeds 72 h, they are considered the most accurate tools to determine PMI min [5,6]. Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are of special importance since they are not only omnipresent but usually also the first at the site [7].…”

“…Aging of adult flies that remain at the scene on the body in question after finishing their development might open a new door of PMI min estimation, especially when it comes to indoor investigations where hatched flies have trouble leaving the room due to closed conditions [6]. So far, there have been different approaches for age grading adult flies, but they are often time consuming, imprecise and of limited use [9].…”

Identification and age-dependence of pteridines in bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) and bat bugs (C. pipistrelli) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

“…While laboratory studies of individuals of known age indicate that pteridine levels increase linearly with age [25][26][27] and are independent of sex 28 , pteridines are degradation products of purine metabolism and their accumulation may not be independent of physiological activity. Indeed, laboratory studies show pteridine levels to increase with rearing temperature 29,30 and ambient light levels 31,32 .…”