A Study of the pupal developments of Sarcophaga argyrostoma (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830)

Forensic entomology is a discipline in which insect evidence is used to determine the minimum postmortem interval (PMImin). The insect evidence may also provide valuable information about the movement of the body, cause of the death, drug use, or poisoning. The pupal period constitutes approximately 50% of immature development. Therefore, it provides a more accurate estimation of the PMImin via a detailed examination. In this study, the pupal development of Sarcophaga (Liopygia) argyrostoma (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830), which larviposits on dead bodies, was examined in Turkey. The pupal development periods of S. argyrostoma and the range of the beginning hours (maximum and minimum) of these periods were determined at a constant temperature of 20, 25, and 30 °C. When all of the temperatures were considered, it was determined that 23 pupal development stages were similar; however, the development times shortened as the temperature increased. Adult emergence was observed at 459 (±1.41), 289.5 (±1.52), and 227 (±1.89) h at 20, 25, and 30 °C, respectively. With respect to the pupal period used to determine the PMImin, the development of S. argyrostoma at different temperatures was described in this study for the first time.