A geometric morphometric analysis of wing variations in shape and size of the blue bottle fly, Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

A geometric morphometric analysis was performed on the right wing of adult Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy) collected across 4 altitudinal levels in Sicily. The objective of this study was to assess differences in shape and centroid size (CS) between females and males and across elevations. The wings analyzed in this study were removed from adults of C. vicina collected with baited traps at 20, 700, 1,153, and 1,552; for this study, 19 landmarks were identified in each wing. The coordinates of the landmarks were aligned and superimposed to prevent variations due to position, orientation, and scale; they were then scaled to the same CS and recentered. CS and Procrustes differences were, respectively, used to assess variations in size and shape. Significant differences were observed in wing shape between males and females but not between all altitudinal levels. Female wings were found to be significantly larger than males (P < 0.01). Wings of flies collected at the highest altitudinal level resulted in significantly larger wings than those collected at lower altitudes (P < 0.001), with CS values ranging from 12.1 to 14.1. Variation in wing shape can impact thermal regulation, and therefore, oxygen content, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and solar radiation can have an effect on an insect's body and activity levels. At high elevations and lower temperatures, larger wings could mean less energy expenditure when flying to increase body temperature.

Assessment of Fungal Succession in Decomposing Swine Carcasses (Sus scrofa L.) Using DNA Metabarcoding.

The decomposition of animal bodies is a process defined by specific stages, described by the state of the body and participation of certain guilds of invertebrates and microorganisms. While the participation of invertebrates in decomposing is well-studied and actively used in crime scene investigations, information on bacteria and fungi from the scene is rarely collected or used in the identification of important factors such as estimated time of death. Modern molecular techniques such as DNA metabarcoding allow the identification and quantification of the composition of microbial communities. In this study, we used DNA metabarcoding to monitor fungal succession during the decomposition of juvenile pigs in grasslands of New Jersey, USA. Our findings show that decomposition stages differ in a diversity of fungal communities. In particular, we noted increased fungal species richness in the more advanced stages of decomposition (e.g., bloat and decay stages), with unique fungal taxa becoming active with the progression of decay. Overall, our findings improve knowledge of how fungi contribute to forensically relevant decomposition and could help with the assessment of crime scenes.

Identifying unknown specimens using predictive phylogenies for remote forensic education.

One significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for educators in forensic science was adapting what is traditionally a very applied field to a virtual learning environment. Because of this, science classes with a practical laboratory component had to implement significant adjustments to ensure that student learning objectives were still met, including practical elements. To provide learners with an alternative to a traditional lab exercise in forensic entomology, we designed an exercise to be conducted completely remotely to instruct students in how to identify a real unknown specimen using a hypothetical phylogenetic tree they create. Students retrieved data and make predictions using public databases, generate phylogenies based off sequence data, and finally determine the identity of the unknown sequence provided. This lab replacement exercise has been adapted to be accessible to learners from different academic levels and takes the length of one two-and-a-half-hour lab period to complete. Through creating this resource, we have been able to link molecular systematics to forensic education and provide learners who download this publicly available exercise insight into how forensic questions are answered.

Review of Molecular Identification Techniques for Forensically Important Diptera.

The medico-legal section of forensic entomology focuses on the analysis of insects associated with a corpse. Such insects are identified, and their life history characteristics are evaluated to provide information related to the corpse, such as postmortem interval and time of colonization. Forensically important insects are commonly identified using dichotomous keys, which rely on morphological characteristics. Morphological identifications can pose a challenge as local keys are not always available and can be difficult to use, especially when identifying juvenile stages. If a specimen is damaged, certain keys cannot be used for identification. In contrast, molecular identification can be a better instrument to identify forensically important insects, regardless of life stage or specimen completeness. Despite more than 20 yr since the first use of molecular data for the identification of forensic insects, there is little overlap in gene selection or phylogenetic methodology among studies, and this inconsistency reduces efficiency. Several methods such as genetic distance, reciprocal monophyly, or character-based methods have been implemented in forensic identification studies. It can be difficult to compare the results of studies that employ these different methods. Here we present a comprehensive review of the published results for the molecular identification of Diptera of forensic interest, with an emphasis on evaluating variation among studies in gene selection and phylogenetic methodology.

Evaluation of bait traps as a means to predict initial blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) communities associated with decomposing swine remains in New Jersey, USA.

Information about blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) species distributions can be valuable for criminal investigations, with regards to determining movement of remains from one location to another and time of colonization estimates, making these data extremely useful. Past work has been conducted on initial species community structure across New Jersey, USA using traps baited with beef liver; however, if these same species frequent vertebrate carrion remains unclear. In order to evaluate these data, piglet carcasses were placed out once every two weeks for a year in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. The same methods were implemented as those used for traps baited with beef liver, with length of collections being based on ADD values. Seven calliphorid species, Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy), Lucilia sericata (Meigen), Lucilia coeruleiviridis (Macquart), Phormia regina (Meigen), Pollenia pediculata Macquart, Pollenia rudis (F.) and Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy) were collected from the carcasses. During this experiment L. sericata, L. coeruleiviridis and P. regina were the dominant adult blow flies captured, totaling 38.2%, 29.2% and 29.2% respectively of all adults caught. All three species colonized the carcasses as well, although not all were dominant colonizers. C. vicina was recorded ovipositing in December, while the piglet was submerged in approximately 5cm of snow. All species that totaled at least 1% of the total collection (adults captured and larvae reared) were the same across baited traps and carcasses. This study supports the use of beef liver baits for surveying forensically important blow flies and the application of such information to forensic investigations.