Sarcophaga Bullata - Forensic Related Research

Forensic Related Research

As members of Sarcophaga bullata are found from coast to coast in the United States and in parts of Canada, these flesh flies have been the focus of many forensically related studies. Most of these studies deal with the immature stages, as maggots are a helpful tool in the forensic world for determining post-mortem interval estimations. One such study concerning S. bullata determined that when evaluating a post-mortem interval, temperature plays a major role in maturation of the maggots and the decomposition of the surrounding tissue. This is an important consideration for forensic entomologists, as the ambient temperature at the crime scene before and during the colonization of human remains by arthropods must be accounted for to ensure that post-mortem interval estimations are accurate.

Another important consideration with the grey flesh flies concerns maggot mass temperature. "Maggot mass" refers to a large group of maggots clustered together at a particular location on a carcass. Reporting an accurate temperature is critical to properly calculating accumulated degree hours in the estimation of a post-mortem interval. Accumulated degree hours and similar measures are determined to attempt to trace back the "age" of the maggots and determine the time of exposure of decaying tissue. Some scientists claim that maggot mass temperature is generally significantly above ambient air temperature. Others maintain that while maggot mass temperature may be elevated in a laboratory setting, in the field the maggots self-regulate their temperature by moving in and out of the feeding mass. Obviously, more research is needed to determine the general effects of maggot mass temperature.

Other work has been reported concerning tanning in S. bullata with the age pigment lipofuscin. Lipofuscin accumulation in larvae is a linear function of time. Some of the pigment is disposed of at the pupal stage and then linear accumulation resumes in adults. Many projects have focused on an assay of this pigment as it could hold a rather accurate technique for aging S. bullata and other forensically important insects.