1.The first record of parasitic mite, Leptus sp. (Acari: Erythraeidae) associated with a necrophagous fly, Chrysomya villeneuvi Patton, 1922 (Diptera: Calliphoridae)
Azmiera, N. ; Hakimitabar, M. ; Ivorra, T. ; Heo, C.C.
Tropical Biomedicine 2022;39(No.2):291-294
This is the first documentation of parasitic mite, Leptus sp., found on a necrophagous blowfly, Chrysomya
villeneuvi collected from a decomposing wild boar carcass placed in Taman Negara (National Park),
Kuala Keniam, Pahang, Malaysia. Blowflies around the carcass were captured using an insect net before
being examined under a stereomicroscope. Upon microscopic observation, we found a mite attached
on the scutellum of C. villeneuvi adult. The mite was carefully removed and preserved in 70% ethanol
subsequently. Then, the mite was cleared in lactophenol before being mounted in Hoyer’s medium.
The morphological identification of the mite was conducted and Leptus sp. was identified. The species
belongs to the phalangii species group and the aldonae species subgroup. This study highlights the
new association of Leptus sp. and C. villeneuvi for the first time.
2.New developmental data of Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in tropical temperatures and its implications in forensic entomology
Ivorra, T. ; Khorri, S.M. ; Rahimi, R. ; Heo, C.C.
Tropical Biomedicine 2023;40(No.1):1-6
The estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is an essential information in death investigations.
It is necessary to know the developmental data of the most important necrophagous insect species
in every geographical area. Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is one
of the most common species associated with human body decomposition, especially in the tropics,
so a precise knowledge of its life cycle is crucial. However, despite its ubiquity, developmental data
in a range of tropical temperatures is scarce. For this reason, the aim of this study is to provide the
developmental data of the blowfly, C. megacephala, in a range of tropical temperatures and to apply
these data in forensic entomology. Four temperatures were examined (i.e., 27.0°C 29.5°C, 32.0°C and
34.5°C) and the time of developments from egg to adult were recorded. To build the growth curves,
five larvae per day were measured with a digital caliper. Accumulated degree-days were calculated and
the isomorphen diagram for this species was plotted. As we predicted, the results showed that the life
cycle of this species was affected by the increasing temperature. The implications of these new data
for determining the minimum PMI in forensic entomology were discussed.