Intrapuparial Development of Hemilucilia semidiaphana (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Its Use in Forensic Entomology

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 1623-1635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Machado da Silva ◽  
Mauricio Osvaldo Moura

Abstract In forensic entomology, the minimum postmortem interval (PMImin) estimative is usually based on the oldest immature recovered from a local of death. The time spent by fly immatures in the intrapuparial period comprises more than 50% of their complete life cycles. An accurate estimate of the duration of this period will improve PMImin estimates. The blow fly Hemilucilia semidiaphana (Rondani 1850) was found in six criminal cases in the city of Curitiba. Even though there is data on the morphology of the larval instars and developmental rate of H. semidiaphana, the intrapuparial period has not been investigated. Here, we provide a detailed description of the intrapuparial morphological changes of H. semidiaphana, which might be useful to estimate minimum PMI. Samples of H. semidiaphana in the intrapuparial period were obtained from immatures reared on an artificial diet in incubators adjusted to 25°C or 20°C temperature regimes. Blow fly puparia of H. semidiaphana were fixed at intervals of 3 and 6 h until emergence of the adult. The external morphological traits of sampled immatures were analyzed using light microscopy. Our analysis of the intrapuparial period of H. semidiaphana provided 21 traits from which nine were age informative. These nine characteristics divide the developmental time (144 h at 25°C and 192 h at 20°C) into smaller sections. The developmental data provided, together with the time line allows a practical way to make interspecific comparisons as well as to estimate the age of H. semidiaphana based on the intrapuparial development.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nophawan Bunchu ◽  
Chinnapat Thaipakdee ◽  
Apichat Vitta ◽  
Sangob Sanit ◽  
Kom Sukontason ◽  
...  

Hemipyrellia ligurriens(Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a forensically important blow fly species presented in many countries. In this study, we determined the morphology of all stages and the developmental rate ofH. ligurriensreared under natural ambient conditions in Phitsanulok province, northern Thailand. Morphological features of all stages based on observing under a light microscope were described and demonstrated in order to use for identification purpose. Moreover, development time in each stage was given. The developmental time ofH. ligurriensto complete metamorphosis; from egg, larva, pupa to adult, took 270.71 h for 1 cycle of development. The results from this study may be useful not only for application in forensic investigation, but also for study in its biology in the future.


Author(s):  
Meritxell Pérez-Hedo ◽  
Carolina Gallego ◽  
Amy Roda ◽  
Barry Kostyk ◽  
Mónica Triana ◽  
...  

Abstract The predatory mirid Macrolophus praeclarus is widely distributed throughout the Americas, and is reported to prey upon several horticultural pest species. However, little is known about its biology, thermal requirements, crop odour preferences, phytophagy, and capability to induce defensive responses in plants. When five temperatures studied (20, 25, 30, 33 and 35°C) were tested and Ephestia kuehniella was used as prey, the developmental time from egg to adult on tomato, was longest at 20°C (56.3 d) and shortest at 33°C (22.7 d). The ability of nymphs to develop to adults decreased as the temperature increased, with the highest number of nymphs reaching the adult stage at 20°C (78.0%) and lowest at 35°C (0%). The lower and upper developmental thresholds were estimated at 11.2° and 35.3°C, respectively. The maximum developmental rate occurred at 31.7°C and the thermal constant was 454.0 ± 8.1 degree days. The highest predation rate of E. kuehniella eggs was obtained at 30°C. In Y-tube olfactory choice tests, M. praeclarus selected tomato, sweet pepper and eggplant odours more frequently than no plant control treatment. Macrolophus praeclarus feeding did not damage tomato plants compared to another zoophytophagous mirid, Nesidiocoris tenuis, which caused necrotic rings. The phytophagy of M. praeclarus induced defensive responses in tomato plants through the upregulation of the jasmonic acid metabolic pathway. The implications of the findings for using M. praeclarus in tomato biological control programmes in the Americas are discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie T. Cushion ◽  
Margaret S. Collins ◽  
Michael J. Linke

ABSTRACT Pneumocystis spp. can cause a lethal pneumonia in hosts with debilitated immune systems. The manner in which these fungal infections spread throughout the lung, the life cycles of the organisms, and their strategies used for survival within the mammalian host are largely unknown, due in part to the lack of a continuous cultivation method. Biofilm formation is one strategy used by microbes for protection against environmental assaults, for communication and differentiation, and as foci for dissemination. We posited that the attachment and growth of Pneumocystis within the lung alveoli is akin to biofilm formation. An in vitro system comprised of insert wells suspended in multiwell plates containing supplemented RPMI 1640 medium supported biofilm formation by P. carinii (from rat) and P. murina (from mouse).Dramatic morphological changes accompanied the transition to a biofilm. Cyst and trophic forms became highly refractile and produced branching formations that anastomosed into large macroscopic clusters that spread across the insert. Confocal microscopy revealed stacking of viable organisms enmeshed in concanavalin A-staining extracellular matrix. Biofilms matured over a 3-week time period and could be passaged. These passaged organisms were able to cause infection in immunosuppressed rodents. Biofilm formation was inhibited by farnesol, a quorum-sensing molecule in Candida spp., suggesting that a similar communication system may be operational in the Pneumocystis biofilms. Intense staining with a monoclonal antibody to the major surface glycoproteins and an increase in (1,3)-β-d-glucan content suggest that these components contributed to the refractile properties. Identification of this biofilm process provides a tractable in vitro system that should fundamentally advance the study of Pneumocystis.


Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Chen ◽  
Li Yang ◽  
Lipin Ren ◽  
Yanjie Shang ◽  
Shiwen Wang ◽  
...  

Necrophagous fly species are commonly used as forensic tools to estimate the minimum postmortem interval (PMImin). Many researchers raised necrophagous flies under constant temperature regimes to collect their developmental data. However, in most forensic cases, the ambient temperature fluctuates. In order to investigate a forensically important fly developmental mode (the Isomegalen diagram, Isomorphen diagram and Thermal summation models) and make comparisons of the developmental rate between constant temperatures and fluctuating temperatures, we used Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to investigate the life history parameters at eight constant temperatures ranging from 8 to 36 °C. We also compared developmental rate of A. grahami in three groups of constant versus fluctuating temperatures: 8 °C vs. 6–12 °C, 12 °C vs. 10–16 °C, and 16 °C vs. 14–20 °C. Our data showed that A. grahami is cold tolerant with a mean (±SE) development threshold temperature (D0) of 3.41 ± 0.48 °C and a thermal summation constant (K) of 8125.2 ± 288.4-degree hours. The three groups subjected to fluctuating temperatures took longer to develop compared to those developing in constant temperatures when simulated in a model. These results not only provide detailed developmental data for the use of A. grahami in the estimation of the PMI, but also indicate that ambient temperature fluctuation must be taken into consideration for the use of all necrophagous fly species.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iman Hassanvand ◽  
Shahriar Jafari ◽  
Masoumeh Khanjani

The effects of six ambient temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 37.5ºC) on life table parameters of Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida (Tetranychidae) were studied under laboratory conditions on soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill). Total immature developmental time of females at the above-mentioned temperatures was 28.55, 16.34, 9.01, 6.96, 5.56 and 5.65 days, respectively. A linear and two nonlinear models of Lactin and SSI were fitted to developmental rate of immature stages of T. kanzawai to predict the developmental rate as a function of temperature, as well as to estimate the thermal constant (k) and critical temperatures. The estimated k for total immature developmental time of females and males was 134.58 and 126.74 DD, respectively. The estimated Topt and Tmax by Lactin model for overall immature stages were 36.20 and 40.70ºC, respectively. Intrinsic optimum temperature (TФ) and T1 (Topt) by SSI model for total immature stages was estimated to be 23.23 and 35.71ºC, respectively. Also the estimated TL and Th of SSI model for overall immature stage were 09.21 and 38.46ºC, respectively. The longest and shortest adult longevity was observed at 15°C (60.63 days), and 37.5°C (7.34 days), respectively. Mated females laid highest and lowest eggs at 25°C (237.96 eggs) and 37.5°C (30.54 eggs), respectively. The rm values ranged from 0.356 day-1 at 30°C to 0.089 day-1at 15°C. The highest value of R0 was 163.55 offspring female-1 at 25°C. The presented information in this study provided new perspective to better management of T. kanzawai on apple trees in Iran.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azadeh Farazmand ◽  
Masood Amir-maafi ◽  
Remzi Atlihan

In this study, developmental time of Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot feeding on immature stages of Tetranychus urticae Koch was evaluated at eight constant temperatures (15, 20, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, and 37.5 °C) providing 60±5% RH and a photoperiod of 16 L: 8 D. Duration of the egg to adult developmental time decreased sharply with increasing temperature, except at 37.5°C. To describe the developmental rate of A. swirskii as a function of temperature, one linear and 9 nonlinear models (Logan-6, Logan-10, Lactin-1, Lactin-2, Briere-1, Briere-2, Analytis-3, Polynomial, and Equation-16) were fitted. The lower temperature threshold (T0) and the thermal constant (K) were estimated by the linear model for the total immature stage as 7.90 °C and 140.85 DD, respectively. Based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and R2adj, Polynomial, Analytis-3, Analytis-3, Logan-10 and Briere-2 were the best models for eggs, larvae, protonymphs, deutonymphs and total immature stages of A. swirskii, respectively. Our findings showed that development and predation of A. swirskii occurs in a wide range of temperatures. Therefore, this predatory mite could be applied in control of T. urticae in different weather conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (4(SI)) ◽  
pp. 1098-1105
Author(s):  
K. Ashok ◽  
◽  
V. Balasubramani ◽  
J.S. Kennedy ◽  
V. Geethalakshmi ◽  
...  

Aim: The present study was conducted to determine the growth, survival, fecundity and mortality rate of Spodoptera frugiperda in maize at elevated temperature. Methodology: Biology and life table experiments were carried out in custom made Open Top Chambers (4m x 4m x 4m size) fitted with SCADA under increasing temperature regimes viz., 32˚C, 33˚C, 34˚C, 35˚C and 36˚C. Each stage of the insects was examined daily and the fertility and life-table parameters were calculated by using TWOSEX-MS chart. Results: The overall developmental time for egg, larva, pupa and adult stages (total lifespan) at different elevated temperatures were in the order of 32˚C > 33˚C > 34˚C > 35˚C > 36˚C. The fecundity rate of S. frugiperda at different elevated temperatures were in the order of 34˚C > 33˚C > 32˚C > 35˚C > 36˚C. Interpretation: The current study confirms that the elevated temperature regimes had a positive correlation with fecundity rate upto 34˚C and negative correlation with the survival rate of S. frugiperda.


Zoosymposia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
TOBIAS PFINGSTL ◽  
HEINRICH SCHATZ

This contribution provides an update on the duration of life cycles and lifespans of oribatid mites based on a literature review. The total lifespan is the sum of the immature developmental time (egg to adult) and the longevity of the adult. Most investigations were carried out in the laboratory, few were performed in the field, under field conditions and/or compared with field data. Many life cycles were investigated under different environmental influences. The life cycles of 144 oribatid species are listed. Compared with the total number of known oribatid species, this number is very low. Data for the total lifespan are given for 52 species, either from observations in the laboratory or estimated in comparison with field studies, but can only be guesses of the real lifespan. The typical lifespan of an oribatid species in temperate or boreal regions lasts between 1 and 2 years, rarely 3 years. The few investigated tropical species from laboratory experiments show generally faster development and shorter lifespans as species from temperate regions; no field studies have been carried out in the tropics yet. Long lifespan periods of 5 to 8 years are particularly characteristic of species in polar regions and in mountainous temperate regions. Some examples of species with different longevity in distinct climate regions, very long lifespans and change of life parameters under stressful laboratory conditions are presented.


Author(s):  
Dian-Xing Feng ◽  
Jing Wu ◽  
Da-Peng Sun

Abstract Dohrniphora cornuta (Bigot) is a forensically important phorid fly indoors and in burial environments. The determination of a minimum postmortem interval (PMImin) often relies on the determination of the age of the immatures. Although the larval development data of D. cornuta under different temperatures has been established, the intrapuparial stage which lasts for about half of the total immature development is scarce. In this study, we investigated the key morphological changes during intrapuparial development at constant temperatures (15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, and 36°C), with an aim to estimate the intrapuparial age of D. cornuta. Puparia were sampled at 12-h (24, 27, 30, and 33°C), 24-h (18 and 21°C), and 48-h (15°C) intervals. The morphological developments within the puparium were analyzed using a stereomicroscope after the puparium was removed. The average minimum duration of intrapuparial stage was inversely related to temperature, ranging from 184.79 ± 3.00 h at 30°C to 1102.86 ± 25.55 h at 15°C for female, and 197.40 ± 4.12 h at 30°C to 1175.33 ± 18.55 h at 15°C for male. It did not develop at 36°C. Some morphological traits that changed during development within the puparium could be used as age markers. According to these changes, the intrapuparial stage of D. cornuta was divided into nine stages which could be used for both sexes. This study provides relatively systematic development data of D. cornuta intrapuparial for the estimation of PMImin in forensic entomology.


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