Sexual size dimorphism in three species of forensically important blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and its implications for postmortem interval estimation

Macedo, Marcos Patrício; Arantes, Luciano José; Tidon, Rosana

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.10.009

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This trend is supported by the observed wingbeat frequencies of the four species in this study, with the mean wingbeat frequency decreasing as the size of the fly species increased. Sexual size dimorphism is common in the animal kingdom, with the adult size of a female often larger than the male, thought to be the result of the increased sensitivity of females to environmental conditions [89], and observed in many calyptrate flies including L. sericata [90]. A size difference may explain why the female mean wingbeat frequency was lower than the male of three out of the four recorded species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Lucilia sericata has also been shown to have significant dimorphism in the shape of the left and right wings between male and females flies, with shape varying considerably between individuals in a given population [88]. Female L. sericata have been shown to be on average 10% larger than males [90], and this approximates the percentage decrease in observed wingbeat frequency between the sexes. The results of this study further support the use of wingbeat frequency as a characteristic being used by males in intersexual communication.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chasing Flies: The Use of Wingbeat Frequency as a Communication Cue in Calyptrate Flies (Diptera: Calyptratae)

Pinto

Magni

O’Brien

et al. 2022

Insects

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The incidental sound produced by the oscillation of insect wings during flight provides an opportunity for species identification. Calyptrate flies include some of the fastest and most agile flying insects, capable of rapid changes in direction and the fast pursuit of conspecifics. This flight pattern makes the continuous and close recording of their wingbeat frequency difficult and limited to confined specimens. Advances in sound editor and analysis software, however, have made it possible to isolate low amplitude sounds using noise reduction and pitch detection algorithms. To explore differences in wingbeat frequency between genera and sex, 40 specimens of three-day old Sarcophaga crassipalpis, Lucilia sericata, Calliphora dubia, and Musca vetustissima were individually recorded in free flight in a temperature-controlled room. Results showed significant differences in wingbeat frequency between the four species and intersexual differences for each species. Discriminant analysis classifying the three carrion flies resulted in 77.5% classified correctly overall, with the correct classification of 82.5% of S. crassipalpis, 60% of C. dubia, and 90% of L. sericata, when both mean wingbeat frequency and sex were included. Intersexual differences were further demonstrated by male flies showing significantly higher variability than females in three of the species. These observed intergeneric and intersexual differences in wingbeat frequency start the discussion on the use of the metric as a communication signal by this taxon. The success of the methodology demonstrated differences at the genus level and encourages the recording of additional species and the use of wingbeat frequency as an identification tool for these flies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chasing Flies: The Use of Wingbeat Frequency as a Communication Cue in Calyptrate Flies (Diptera: Calyptratae)

Pinto

Magni

O’Brien

et al. 2022

Insects

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“…In beetles, the use of size and sex is useful in improving age estimates of forensically important species in at least one documented instance (25,26). While the impact of sexual dimorphism in development time is acknowledged (22,23,27), methods which have quantitatively evaluated the reliability to identify sex of immature Calliphoridae are lacking. In order to apply information from sex‐specific datasets for interpretation of evidence, error rates for identification of sex are necessary.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Evaluation of Differentially Spliced Genes as Markers of Sex for Forensic Entomology,,

Jonika

Hjelmen

Faris

et al. 2020

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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Blow flies (Calliphoridae) are important medically and economically and are commonly used in forensics as temporal markers in death investigations. While phenotypic traits in adult flies can be sexually dimorphic, sex identification in immatures is difficult. Consequently, little is known about how sex may result in developmental disparities among sexes even though there are indications that they may be important in some instances. Since genetic mechanisms for sex are well studied in model flies and species of agricultural and medical importance, we exploit the sex‐specifically spliced genes transformer (tra) and doublesex (dsx) in the sex determination pathway to optimize a sex identification assay for immatures. Using known primer sets for tra and with a novel one for dsx, we develop PCR assays for identifying sex in four forensically relevant Calliphoridae species: Lucilia sericata (Meigen), Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann), Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius), and Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) and evaluated their performance. Band detection rates were found to range from 71 to 100%, call rates ranged from 90 to 100%, and no error was found when bands could be called. Such information is informative for purposes of testimony and in preparation for development studies. The developed assays will assist in further differentiating sexually dimorphic differences in development of the Calliphoridae and aid in more accurately estimating insect age when age predictive markers (size, development time, molecular expression) are sexually dimorphic.

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“…These larvae are supposed to grow at predictable rates. Therefore, forensic entomologists estimate their lifespan based on their size or length (Macedo et al 2018). Based on evolutionary data from Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae, Stratiomyidae, and some beetles collected from cadavers, PMI can be calculated (Amendt et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possibility of growing insect eggs on human cadavers preserved at sub‐zero temperatures for different time intervals

Alajmi,

Aldakheel,

Al Haidar

et al. 2024

Entomological Research

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Insects are the first arthropods to invade cadavers and, thus, can be used as evidence in criminal investigations. The current study aimed to investigate the possibility of breeding insect eggs in the lab that would be collected from male human cadavers kept in the mortuary refrigerators at sub‐freezing temperatures for different periods. Egg specimens were collected from different human cadavers preserved from −16 to −20°C for different time intervals. All collected eggs were incubated at 25–30°C and 60%–70% and observed until hatched larvae complete their life cycle. All obtained larvae and adults were identified based on morphological characteristics. Data showed that, at selected ranges of temperature and humidity, some eggs were hatched to the first larval stage and then stopped growing, while others completed their life cycle to the adult insect stage. The obtained adult insects were identified using morphological classification and found to belong to Dermestes frischii.

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Sexual size dimorphism in three species of forensically important blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and its implications for postmortem interval estimation

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Chasing Flies: The Use of Wingbeat Frequency as a Communication Cue in Calyptrate Flies (Diptera: Calyptratae)

Chasing Flies: The Use of Wingbeat Frequency as a Communication Cue in Calyptrate Flies (Diptera: Calyptratae)

An Evaluation of Differentially Spliced Genes as Markers of Sex for Forensic Entomology,,

Possibility of growing insect eggs on human cadavers preserved at sub‐zero temperatures for different time intervals

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