How promptly do blowflies colonise fresh carcasses? A study comparing indoor with outdoor locations

Behavioral Patterns of Adult Carrion Flies Phormiaregina and Luciliacoeruleiviridis (Diptera: Calliphoridae) at Pig Carcasses in West Virginia, USA.

“…Such delays are, however, contrary to the findings of Reibe and Madea (2010) that temperature had no significant effect on the arrival of blowflies in experimental runs from May through August when temperatures were between 15 o C and 25 o C.…”

Occurrences of flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) on human cadavers in Switzerland, and their importance as forensic indicators

“…In case 69, S. argyrostoma larviposited about 9 days later than the first blowfly (Ca. vicina), and the most likely explanation is that adult flesh flies were not present during the first days or could not reach the corpse immediately (see also Reibe and Maeda, [33]). Other evidence from the investigation showed that the person could have died even a week before the egg laying of Ca.…”

Family Calliphoridae: An Integral Part of Postmortem Interval Estimation

“…The arrival and activity of family Calliphoridae on a deceased corpse indoors can aid in the quantitative measure of the postmortem interval. To confirm Calliphoridae importance in indoor deaths, L. sericata and Calliphora vicina were found in greater number in indoor deaths and were more prevalent in urban areas [30,33]. Calliphoridae will also preferentially inhabit a corpse in a rural area.…”

“…One must consider temperature, oviposition behavior, and corpse location. L. sericata were found to inhabit areas that have more sunlight [30]. If a corpse is discovered in a dark environment, L. sericata might be slower to colonize than if the corpse was present in a bright location.…”