Intrapuparial development of Sarcophaga (Liopygia) ruficornis (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), a species of medical‐veterinary and forensic importance, under laboratory conditions

Abstract

Sarcophaga (=Parasarcophaga) (Liopygia) ruficornis (Fabricius, 1794) is a species of medical–veterinary and forensic importance, as its immatures cause myiasis in humans and animals and colonize carcasses and cadavers. Therefore, investigations into the biology and morphology of this species, with a particular focus on pupae that constitute ≥50% of the developmental period for the immatures, are pertinent. Although there are biological and morphological studies of pupae, the intrapuparial development at different temperatures has not yet been analysed. Therefore, the present study aimed to describe how temperature (22, 27 and 32 ± 1°C) affects the development and morphology of S. (L.) ruficornis pupae at 60 ± 10% relative humidity and a 12‐h photoperiod. Ten pupae were collected, euthanized and fixed every 4 h from pupariation until 24 h and every 8 h until the emergence of the first adult. Emergence occurred at 440, 272 and 232 h at 22, 27 and 32°C, with 590, 380 and 330 pupae, respectively. The highest mortality occurred at 32°C. Eight periods were defined, and sex was determined in pharate adult stage; in addition, 40 key morphological characteristics to estimate pupal age were presented. These findings can serve as a basis for studies on the biology and morphology of the pupa of S. (L.) ruficornis, particularly in bionomics, control and forensics, helping researchers and experts.

Development and intrapuparial characterization of Peckia (Euboettcheria) collusor (Curran and Walley, 1934) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) for application in forensic entomology

“…Duarte et al 33 conducted a study on Sarcophaga ( Liopygia ) ruficornis (Fabricius, 1794) at temperatures of 22 °C, 27 °C, and 32 °C. They observed the emergence of adults at 440 h, 272 h, and 232 h, respectively.…”