A review of postfeeding larval dispersal in blowflies: implications for forensic entomology

Immature and adult stages of blowflies are one of the primary invertebrate consumers of decomposing animal organic matter. When the food supply is consumed or when the larvae complete their development and migrate prior to the total removal of the larval substrate, they disperse to find adequate places for pupation, a process known as postfeeding larval dispersal. Several important ecological and physiological aspects of this process were studied since the work by Green (Ann Appl Biol 38:475, 1951) 50 years ago. An understanding of postfeeding larval dispersal can be useful for determining the postmortem interval (PMI) of human cadavers in legal medicine, particularly because this interval may be underestimated if older dispersing larvae or those that disperse longer, faster, and deeper are not taken into account. In this article, we review the process of postfeeding larval dispersal and its implications for legal medicine, in particular showing that aspects such as burial behavior and competition among species of blowflies can influence this process and consequently, the estimation of PMI.

Larval competition for patchy resources in Chrysomya megacephala (Dipt., Calliphoridae): implications of the spatial distribution of immatures

In the present study, a single procedure was established to investigate the effect of the spatial distribution of immatures in patchy resources, on the outcome of larval competition for food. in experimental populations of Chrysomya megacephala. A theoretical model of intraspecific competition was extended and applied to experimental data on survival to adulthood for 20 larval densities, to obtain the theoretical mean number of individuals that will survive, considering a hypothetical previous random adult oviposition in a system of homogeneous patches. The survival curve obtained suggests that the larval competition for food in C. megacephala is of the scramble/exploitative type, which corroborates results from previous studies, although the latter did not consider the correlation between local and global abundances. The present model allows that experimental data could be perfectly applicable, and it incorporates fundamental assumptions about the spatial context of competition for patchy resources in blowflies, and may be applied to the optimization of mass rearing techniques and to the maintenance of insect colonies under experimental conditions.

Nutritional ecology of blowflies (Diptera, Calliphoridae): estimates of critical larval weight for pupation on two different diets

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Estudo da dispersão larval radial pós-alimentar em Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) (Diptera, Calliphoridae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Dispersão larval radial pós-alimentar em Lucilia cuprina (Diptera, Calliphoridae): profundidade, peso e distância de enterramento para pupação

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Behavior of the combined radial post-feeding larval dispersal of the blowflies Chrysomya megacephala and Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera, Calliphoridae) and implications for forensic entomology

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Efeito do tipo de substrato para pupação na dispersão larval pós-alimentar de Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera, Calliphoridae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Description of diet of pelagic fish in the southwestern Atlantic, Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Competição larval em Chrysomya megacephala (F.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae): efeitos de diferentes níveis de agregação larval sobre estimativas de peso, fecundidade e investimento reprodutivo

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Synchronization: Stability and duration time

We consider the problem of stability and duration of the synchronization process between self-excited oscillators, both in their regular and chaotic states. Making use of the properties of Hill equation describing the deviation between the slave and the master, we derive the stability conditions and expressions of the synchronization time. A fairly good agreement is obtained between the analytical and numerical results.

Pelagic and littoral cladocerans (Crustacea, Anomopoda and Ctenopoda) from reservoirs of the Northwest of São Paulo State, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Desenvolvimento larval de Eriphia gonagra (Fabricius, 1781) (Decapoda, Xanthidae), em laboratório

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Desenvolvimento pós-embrionário de Pagurus brevidactylus (Stimpson, 1858) (Decapoda, Paguridae), em laboratório

All the larval stages of the hermit crab Pagurus brevidactylus were studied in the laboratory, with special emphasis on external morphology and on the duration of each stage. The larvae were kept in individual containers, with water of 35 salinity and fed on nauplii of Artemia salina; room temperature was maintained at 24±1ºC. The post-embryonic development includes four stages of zoea and one of megalopa. All the larval stages are drawn and described in detail.

Larval development of Hexapanopeus paulensis Rathbun, 1930 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Xanthidae) under laboratory conditions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Desenvolvimento larval de Dardanus insignis (Saussure) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Diogenidae), em laboratório

The developmental stages of Dardanus insignis (Saussure, 1858) from first through eighth zoea and megalopa are described and illuslraled. The experiments were carried out involving 100 larvae, obtained from ovigerous females collected on the north littoral of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The larvae were kept in individual containers, with water of 34 salinity and fed with freshly hatched nauplii of Artemia; room temperature was maintained at 25±1ºC. The larval characters of this species are compared with Dardanus arrosor (Herbst, 1796). the only species of the genus that has also heen reared in laboratory.