Novel use of a servosphere to study apodous insects: Investigation of blow fly post‐feeding larval dispersal.
| Title: | Novel use of a servosphere to study apodous insects: Investigation of blow fly post‐feeding larval dispersal. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Mactaggart, Molly, Whitaker, Amoret P., Wilkinson, Keith N., Hall, Martin J. R. |
| Source: | Medical & Veterinary Entomology; Mar2025, Vol. 39 Issue 1, p14-21, 8p |
| Subject Terms: | LARVAL dispersal, BLOWFLIES, INSECTS, LARVAE, PHOTOTAXIS, ENTOMOLOGY, FORENSIC sciences |
| Abstract: | Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are arguably the most important providers of an estimate of minimum post‐mortem interval in forensic investigations. They usually undergo a post‐feeding dispersal from the body. While previous studies have looked at dispersal of groups of larvae, recording the dispersal activity of individual larvae has not previously been demonstrated. A servosphere was used here to record the speed, directionality and phototaxis of individual post‐feeding larvae of two species of blow fly on a smooth plastic surface over time. The servosphere rotates to compensate for the movement of an insect placed at its apex, thereby enabling its unimpeded locomotion in any direction to be studied and behavioural changes to external stimuli recorded. To our knowledge, the servosphere has not previously been used to study apodous insects. The objective of our study was to compare dispersal behaviour of Calliphora vicina Robineau‐Desvoidy and Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau‐Desvoidy), both common primary colonisers of human and animal cadavers, but showing different post‐feeding dispersal strategies. Larvae of C. vicina generally disperse from the body while those of P. terraenovae remain on or close to the body. Our aims were to study (1) changes in dispersal speed over a 1‐h period; (2) changes in dispersal speed once a day for 4 days, between the end of feeding and onset of pupariation; and (3) response of dispersing larvae to light. We demonstrated that (1) the movement of three C. vicina larvae tracked for 1 continuous hour on 1 day slowed from an average of 3 to <1.7 mms−1; (2) the average speed of 20 larvae of C. vicina (4.08 mms−1) recorded for 5 min once per day over a 4‐day period between onset of dispersal and pupariation was significantly greater than that of P. terraenovae (2.36 mms−1; p < 0.0001), but that speed of both species increased slightly over the 4 days; (3) the responses of larvae of C. vicina to changes in light direction from the four cardinal directions of the compass, showed that they exhibited a strong negative phototactic response within 5 s, turning to move at approximately 180° away from the new light position. While conducted to observe larval calliphorid post‐feeding behaviour, the results of this proof of concept study show that apodous insects can be studied on a servosphere to produce both qualitative and quantitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Complementary Index |
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| Header | DbId: edb DbLabel: Complementary Index An: 183914567 RelevancyScore: 1082 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 1082.12561035156 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Novel use of a servosphere to study apodous insects: Investigation of blow fly post‐feeding larval dispersal. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mactaggart%2C+Molly%22">Mactaggart, Molly</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Whitaker%2C+Amoret+P%2E%22">Whitaker, Amoret P.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wilkinson%2C+Keith+N%2E%22">Wilkinson, Keith N.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hall%2C+Martin+J%2E+R%2E%22">Hall, Martin J. R.</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: Medical & Veterinary Entomology; Mar2025, Vol. 39 Issue 1, p14-21, 8p – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22LARVAL+dispersal%22">LARVAL dispersal</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22BLOWFLIES%22">BLOWFLIES</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22INSECTS%22">INSECTS</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22LARVAE%22">LARVAE</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22PHOTOTAXIS%22">PHOTOTAXIS</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22ENTOMOLOGY%22">ENTOMOLOGY</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22FORENSIC+sciences%22">FORENSIC sciences</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are arguably the most important providers of an estimate of minimum post‐mortem interval in forensic investigations. They usually undergo a post‐feeding dispersal from the body. While previous studies have looked at dispersal of groups of larvae, recording the dispersal activity of individual larvae has not previously been demonstrated. A servosphere was used here to record the speed, directionality and phototaxis of individual post‐feeding larvae of two species of blow fly on a smooth plastic surface over time. The servosphere rotates to compensate for the movement of an insect placed at its apex, thereby enabling its unimpeded locomotion in any direction to be studied and behavioural changes to external stimuli recorded. To our knowledge, the servosphere has not previously been used to study apodous insects. The objective of our study was to compare dispersal behaviour of Calliphora vicina Robineau‐Desvoidy and Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau‐Desvoidy), both common primary colonisers of human and animal cadavers, but showing different post‐feeding dispersal strategies. Larvae of C. vicina generally disperse from the body while those of P. terraenovae remain on or close to the body. Our aims were to study (1) changes in dispersal speed over a 1‐h period; (2) changes in dispersal speed once a day for 4 days, between the end of feeding and onset of pupariation; and (3) response of dispersing larvae to light. We demonstrated that (1) the movement of three C. vicina larvae tracked for 1 continuous hour on 1 day slowed from an average of 3 to <1.7 mms−1; (2) the average speed of 20 larvae of C. vicina (4.08 mms−1) recorded for 5 min once per day over a 4‐day period between onset of dispersal and pupariation was significantly greater than that of P. terraenovae (2.36 mms−1; p < 0.0001), but that speed of both species increased slightly over the 4 days; (3) the responses of larvae of C. vicina to changes in light direction from the four cardinal directions of the compass, showed that they exhibited a strong negative phototactic response within 5 s, turning to move at approximately 180° away from the new light position. While conducted to observe larval calliphorid post‐feeding behaviour, the results of this proof of concept study show that apodous insects can be studied on a servosphere to produce both qualitative and quantitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: Abstract Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Medical & Veterinary Entomology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/mve.12745 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 8 StartPage: 14 Subjects: – SubjectFull: LARVAL dispersal Type: general – SubjectFull: BLOWFLIES Type: general – SubjectFull: INSECTS Type: general – SubjectFull: LARVAE Type: general – SubjectFull: PHOTOTAXIS Type: general – SubjectFull: ENTOMOLOGY Type: general – SubjectFull: FORENSIC sciences Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Novel use of a servosphere to study apodous insects: Investigation of blow fly post‐feeding larval dispersal. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Mactaggart, Molly – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Whitaker, Amoret P. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wilkinson, Keith N. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hall, Martin J. R. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 03 Text: Mar2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0269283X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 39 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Medical & Veterinary Entomology Type: main |
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