Developmental Variation of Indian Thermophilic Variety of Scuttle Fly Megaselia (Megaselia) scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) on Different Substrates

The scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) are important in forensic dipterology, because of their necrophagous habit. They are amongst the first wave of insects visiting human corpses in mechanically barricaded environments; hence their immature stages are generally used for estimation of PMI. The effec...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abesh Chakraborty, Atanu Naskar, Panchanan Parui, Dhriti Banerjee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Scientifica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4257081
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849411704932270080
author Abesh Chakraborty
Atanu Naskar
Panchanan Parui
Dhriti Banerjee
author_facet Abesh Chakraborty
Atanu Naskar
Panchanan Parui
Dhriti Banerjee
author_sort Abesh Chakraborty
collection DOAJ
description The scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) are important in forensic dipterology, because of their necrophagous habit. They are amongst the first wave of insects visiting human corpses in mechanically barricaded environments; hence their immature stages are generally used for estimation of PMI. The effect of different substrates commonly used for developmental studies was studied to analyze the variation of growth of the thermophilic variety of Megaselia (M.) scalaris prevalent in India on GDM, EDM, and SMS (n=3). One approach of PMI estimation depends on larvae collected from the crime scene and comparing them with reference data derived from larval rearing to establish PMI. Results showed that there was a significant variation in avg. length (F(2,111)=15.79873, p=0.000000917), width (F(2,111)=14.60528, p=0.00000234), and biomass (F(2,111)=37.01727, p=0.000000000000482) of the immature stages in the three media and the larvae grow maximally in the SMS medium. The results of the present study thus provide baseline data on the growth and developmental pattern of the Megaselia (M.) scalaris, which can be utilized in conjunction with specific geoclimatic reference data, for forensic entomological studies and also for using the phorid as a biocontrol agent of pestiferous insects.
format Article
id doaj-art-62ba7d7c46424ca58ca07a878a14f3db
institution Kabale University
issn 2090-908X
language English
publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Scientifica
spelling doaj-art-62ba7d7c46424ca58ca07a878a14f3db2025-08-20T03:34:41ZengWileyScientifica2090-908X2016-01-01201610.1155/2016/42570814257081Developmental Variation of Indian Thermophilic Variety of Scuttle Fly Megaselia (Megaselia) scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) on Different SubstratesAbesh Chakraborty0Atanu Naskar1Panchanan Parui2Dhriti Banerjee3Zoological Survey of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests (Government of India), M Block, New Alipore, Kolkata 700 053, IndiaZoological Survey of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests (Government of India), M Block, New Alipore, Kolkata 700 053, IndiaZoological Survey of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests (Government of India), M Block, New Alipore, Kolkata 700 053, IndiaZoological Survey of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests (Government of India), M Block, New Alipore, Kolkata 700 053, IndiaThe scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) are important in forensic dipterology, because of their necrophagous habit. They are amongst the first wave of insects visiting human corpses in mechanically barricaded environments; hence their immature stages are generally used for estimation of PMI. The effect of different substrates commonly used for developmental studies was studied to analyze the variation of growth of the thermophilic variety of Megaselia (M.) scalaris prevalent in India on GDM, EDM, and SMS (n=3). One approach of PMI estimation depends on larvae collected from the crime scene and comparing them with reference data derived from larval rearing to establish PMI. Results showed that there was a significant variation in avg. length (F(2,111)=15.79873, p=0.000000917), width (F(2,111)=14.60528, p=0.00000234), and biomass (F(2,111)=37.01727, p=0.000000000000482) of the immature stages in the three media and the larvae grow maximally in the SMS medium. The results of the present study thus provide baseline data on the growth and developmental pattern of the Megaselia (M.) scalaris, which can be utilized in conjunction with specific geoclimatic reference data, for forensic entomological studies and also for using the phorid as a biocontrol agent of pestiferous insects.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4257081
spellingShingle Abesh Chakraborty
Atanu Naskar
Panchanan Parui
Dhriti Banerjee
Developmental Variation of Indian Thermophilic Variety of Scuttle Fly Megaselia (Megaselia) scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) on Different Substrates
Scientifica
title Developmental Variation of Indian Thermophilic Variety of Scuttle Fly Megaselia (Megaselia) scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) on Different Substrates
title_full Developmental Variation of Indian Thermophilic Variety of Scuttle Fly Megaselia (Megaselia) scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) on Different Substrates
title_fullStr Developmental Variation of Indian Thermophilic Variety of Scuttle Fly Megaselia (Megaselia) scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) on Different Substrates
title_full_unstemmed Developmental Variation of Indian Thermophilic Variety of Scuttle Fly Megaselia (Megaselia) scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) on Different Substrates
title_short Developmental Variation of Indian Thermophilic Variety of Scuttle Fly Megaselia (Megaselia) scalaris (Loew, 1866) (Diptera: Phoridae) on Different Substrates
title_sort developmental variation of indian thermophilic variety of scuttle fly megaselia megaselia scalaris loew 1866 diptera phoridae on different substrates
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4257081
work_keys_str_mv AT abeshchakraborty developmentalvariationofindianthermophilicvarietyofscuttleflymegaseliamegaseliascalarisloew1866dipteraphoridaeondifferentsubstrates
AT atanunaskar developmentalvariationofindianthermophilicvarietyofscuttleflymegaseliamegaseliascalarisloew1866dipteraphoridaeondifferentsubstrates
AT panchananparui developmentalvariationofindianthermophilicvarietyofscuttleflymegaseliamegaseliascalarisloew1866dipteraphoridaeondifferentsubstrates
AT dhritibanerjee developmentalvariationofindianthermophilicvarietyofscuttleflymegaseliamegaseliascalarisloew1866dipteraphoridaeondifferentsubstrates