Behavior
C. vicina play an integral part in post mortem interval determination. Factors such as region, weather temperatures, time of day and conditions under which the body was found all contribute to determining a post mortem interval (PMI). To complete the calculation the entomologist must consider what is commonly known about C. vicina and integrate it with experimental data gathered from a crime scene. The entomologist must know how the blow-fly behaves specifically in the area where the body was discovered. This involves recording environment temperatures at the crime scene as well as retrieving a history of the climate in the region. C. vicina in particular is adapted to cooler temperatures, appearing most commonly in winter and less often in the summer months. This puts their flight activity threshold at above 55-60°F (13-16°C), a lower temperature than most other blow-flies. Knowing the threshold temperature allows the entomologist to calculate accumulated degree days, which in turn helps determine PMI.
Some knowledge regarding C. vicina behavior is well known. Case studies have shown that it is not the first species in arrival. However, it does appear one to two days before Phaenicia sericata. However, determining PMI is an intricate process because there is still much that we do not know about C. vicina behavior. For instance, it is a long held belief that the species is not nocturnally active. Recently, however, it has been shown that C. vicina is indeed active at night under certain experimental conditions.
Read more about this topic: Calliphora Vicina
Famous quotes containing the word behavior:
“Growing up human is uniquely a matter of social relations rather than biology. What we learn from connections within the family takes the place of instincts that program the behavior of animals; which raises the question, how good are these connections?”
—Elizabeth Janeway (b. 1913)
“The psychological umbilical cord is more difficult to cut than the real one. We experience our children as extensions of ourselves, and we feel as though their behavior is an expression of something within us...instead of an expression of something in them. We see in our children our own reflection, and when we don’t like what we see, we feel angry at the reflection.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)
“The civilizing process has increased the distance between behavior and the impulse life of the animal body.”
—Shoshana Zuboff (b. 1951)