Aggregation in an heterospecific population of blowfly larvae: social behaviour is impacted by species-specific thermal requirements and settlement order.

Larvae of several blowfly species grow on carcasses and actively aggregate together. They face harsh developmental conditions resulting in a strong pressure to reduce development time: this is achieved either through thermoregulation or aggregation. We investigate how these two developmental strategies are modulated within heterospecific groups.

Synomones in necrophagous larvae of the blow flies Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vomitoria.

Chemical signals are widespread in insects, but those resulting in interspecific communication (i.e., synomones) remain understudied.

Experimental Evidence of Bone Lesions Due to Larder Beetle (Coleoptera: Dermestidae).

Dermestid beetles (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) are necrophagous insects feeding on mummified carcasses. After six to seven molts, the larvae stop feeding and dig pupation chambers to hide and safely evolve into adults. Such pupation chambers have already been observed on archaeological mammals' bones, but the attribution and interpretation of these osteological lesions lack experimental evidence in a forensic context.

Insights into the palaeobiology of an early Homo infant: multidisciplinary investigation of the GAR IVE hemi-mandible, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia.

Childhood is an ontogenetic stage unique to the modern human life history pattern. It enables the still dependent infants to achieve an extended rapid brain growth, slow somatic maturation, while benefitting from provisioning, transitional feeding, and protection from other group members. This tipping point in the evolution of human ontogeny likely emerged from early Homo.

Balance between larval and pupal development time in carrion blowflies.

Several studies have highlighted the impact of environmental factors such as food type or larval density on the development of blowfly larvae. We investigated how changes in development speed (due to larval density and group composition) are divided among feeding and post-feeding stages. Even if these parameters impinge only on feeding larvae, they may ultimately also affect their subsequent development, and especially metamorphosis duration.

Looking Back to Move Forward: How Review Articles Could Boost Forensic Entomology.

The Locard's exchange principle (1930) holds that the perpetrator of a crime leaves traces behind that can later be sampled and used as forensic evidence [...

Effect of density and species preferences on collective choices: an experimental study on maggot aggregation behaviours.

Collective decisions have been extensively studied in arthropods, but they remain poorly understood in heterospecific groups. This study was designed to (1) assess the collective behaviours of blow fly larvae (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in groups varying in density and species composition, and (2) relate them to the costs and benefits of aggregating on fresh or decomposed food. First, experiments testing conspecific groups of and larvae, two species feeding at the same time on fresh carcasses, demonstrated decreases in growth and survival on rotten beef liver compared with fresh liver.

Benefits of heterospecific aggregation on necromass: influence of temperature, group density, and composition on fitness-related traits.

Necrophagous blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) such as Calliphora vicina, a cold-tolerant species, and Lucilia sericata, a warm-adapted species, are pioneer carrion-breeder. Although these two species have different temperature preferences, larvae aggregate actively and often feed simultaneously on carrion. The hypothesis to be tested was that L.

The maggot, the ethologist and the forensic entomologist: Sociality and thermoregulation in necrophagous larvae.

Necrophagous insects are mostly known through forensic entomology. Indeed, experimental data investigating the effect of temperature on larval development underlies post-mortem interval estimations. However, such developmental studies rarely considered the behavior of maggots.

Temperature: the weak point of forensic entomology.

Measuring temperature is a key factor in forensic entomology. While noting factors to consider for a posteriori temperature estimation, many studies lack detailed methods or general rules allowing their integration into insect development-time calculations. This article proposes tools for determining the adequacy of weather station temperature datasets versus the local temperature experienced by carrion breeders.

Communication in necrophagous Diptera larvae: interspecific effect of cues left behind by maggots and implications in their aggregation.

Necrophagous Calliphoridae breed in vertebrate carrion. Their larvae aggregate and form large masses of individuals. These aggregated larvae can reach adulthood faster than scattered larvae, increasing their chances of survival.

[Thermoregulation behavior in necrophagous dipteran larvae].

The forensic entomology is the use of insects to date the death. The forensic expert assessment is based on the development of necrophagous insects which are growing on the cadaver, to calculate their age and then estimate the Post-Mortem Interval. This development depends on a number of parameters like temperature, species or behavior.

Use of necrophagous insects as evidence of cadaver relocation: myth or reality?

The use of insects as indicators of post-mortem displacement is discussed in many texts, courses and TV shows, and several studies addressing this issue have been published. Although the concept is widely cited, it is poorly understood, and only a few forensic cases have successfully applied such a method. The use of necrophagous insects as evidence of cadaver relocation actually involves a wide range of biological aspects.

Mixed-species aggregations in arthropods.

This review offers the first synthesis of the research on mixed-species groupings of arthropods and highlights the behavioral and evolutionary questions raised by such behavior. Mixed-species groups are commonly found in mammals and birds. Such groups are also observed in a large range of arthropod taxa independent of their level of sociality.

To eat or get heat: Behavioral trade-offs between thermoregulation and feeding in gregarious necrophagous larvae.

The thermoregulation behavior of Lucilia sericata larvae (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a necrophagous species that feeds on vertebrate cadavers, was investigated. These larvae require high heat incomes to develop, and can elevate temperatures by forming large aggregates. We hypothesized that L.

Interspecific shared collective decision-making in two forensically important species.

To date, the study of collective behaviour has mainly focused on intraspecific situations: the collective decision-making of mixed-species groups involving interspecific aggregation-segregation has received little attention. Here, we show that, in both conspecific and heterospecific groups, the larvae of two species (Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vomitoria, calliphorid carrion-feeding flies) were able to make a collective choice. In all groups, the choice was made within a few minutes and persisted throughout the period of the experiment.

The biology and ecology of Necrodes littoralis, a species of forensic interest in Europe.

Necrodes littoralis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera: Silphidae), also known as the "shore sexton beetle," is a common silphid beetle that visits and breeds on large vertebrate cadavers. This study describes, for the first time, the involvement of N. littoralis on human corpses based on a large dataset of 154 French forensic cases.

Experimental study of Lucilia sericata (Diptera Calliphoridae) larval development on rat cadavers: Effects of climate and chemical contamination.

Household products such as bleach, gasoline or hydrochloric acid have been used to mask the presence of a cadaver or to prevent the colonization of insects. These types of chemicals affect insect development and alter the forensic entomology analysis. This study was designed to test the effects of six household products (bleach, mosquito repellent, perfume, caustic soda, insecticide and unleaded gasoline) on blowfly (Lucilia sericata, Diptera: Calliphoridae) larval development.

Do necrophagous blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) lay their eggs in wounds?: Experimental data and implications for forensic entomology.

This study was designed to examine the common belief that necrophagous blowflies lay their eggs in wounds. The egg-laying behaviour of Lucilia sericata was observed under controlled conditions on wet, artificially wounded or short-haired areas of rat cadavers. Flies laid significantly more eggs on the wet area and the area with short hair than on the dry area or area with long hair.

In vitro effects of household products on Calliphoridae larvae development: implication for forensic entomology.

Several parameters can delay the first arrival of flies on a corpse and the subsequent development of the larvae. This study focuses on the development of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) (Meigen, 1826) on household chemical-contaminated substrates. bleach, perfume, hydrochloric acid, caustic soda, insecticide, mosquito repellent, and gasoline in quantities consistent with an amount that could possibly be spilled on a corpse were mixed with beef liver to simulate contaminated fleshes.

Involvement of larder beetles (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) on human cadavers: a review of 81 forensic cases.

From 1994 to 2013, French forensic entomology laboratories investigated 1,093 cases. Larder beetles (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) were observed in 81 (7.5%) of these cases.

The potential of forensic analysis on human bones found in riverine environment.

Human remains found in aquatic contexts are frequently recovered incomplete and badly decomposed, and therefore present a challenge for medico-legal institutes as their possibilities of analysis for identification and investigation of cause and manner of death are limited. This article aims to demonstrate the potential of forensic examination and analyses (DNA, toxicology, diatoms and entomology) on a set of bones recovered from a river in Strasbourg and the possibility to trigger identification of the victim and circumstances of death despite the state of decomposition and incompleteness of remains.

Discontinuous foraging behavior of necrophagous Lucilia sericata (Meigen 1826) (Diptera Calliphoridae) larvae.

Larvae of the necrophagous Blowfly Lucilia sericata (Diptera Calliphoridae) live on vertebrate cadavers. Although continuously feeding was previously assumed for this species, we hypothesized that larvae do not feed constantly. According to this hypothesis, their crop should not always be full, which should be reflected in crop surfaces.

Larval-mass effect: Characterisation of heat emission by necrophageous blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larval aggregates.

Numerous Calliphoridae species larvae are necrophageous and develop on animal cadavers. During the feeding stages, a strong gregarious behaviour leads to the formation of large larval masses, allowing larvae to share digestive fluids. Furthermore, a mass of larvae emits heat, resulting in a local increase of temperature.

Repellent effect of some household products on fly attraction to cadavers.

The most common task of a forensic entomologist is to determine an accurate minimum post-mortem interval (PMI) using necrophagous fly larvae found on carrion. More often, blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are the first insects to detect the cadaver and, if the circumstances are favourable, to leave eggs on the body. However, several studies reveal that products such as gas or paint found on the cadaver induce a delay in the colonisation of the body, leading to an under-estimate of the PMI.