A confirmed feeding attempt by the haematophagous horse fly Philoliche (Philoliche) rondani (Bertoloni, 1861) (Diptera: Tabanidae) on fresh carrion.

Background: Many flies have specially evolved feeding mechanisms to imbibe liquids of specific viscosities. Observations of feeding on atypical liquids are notable because of their rarity.

New Information: We report the first record of intrusive fluid feeding on vertebrate carrion by .

Metrological framework for selecting morphological characters to identify species and estimate developmental maturity of forensically significant insect specimens.

Accurate age estimates of immature necrophagous insects associated with a human or animal body can provide evidence of how long the body has been dead. These estimates are based on species-specific details of the insects' aging processes, and therefore require accurate species identification and developmental stage estimation. Many professionals who produce or use identified organisms as forensic evidence have little training in taxonomy or metrology, and appreciate the availability of formalized principles and standards for biological identification.