''Calliphora latifrons'' is a species of blue bottle fly. This fly adheres to a particular environment and

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

that has limited geographic distributions in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Undisturbed, this environment fosters ''C. latifrons'' unique life cycle that somewhat differs from related blow flies. This life cycle can be utilized as a tool for

forensic Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

applications such as

postmortem interval The post-mortem interval (PMI) is the time that has elapsed since an individual's death. When the time of death is not known, the interval may be estimated, and so an approximate time of death established. Postmortem interval estimations can ra ...

determination.

Identification

''Calliphora latifrons'' can be distinguished from related species by the following set of characters: *Presutral intra-alar seta present; anterior thoracic spiracle usually with brown

seta In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae, ...

e; abdomen usually metallic bluish with or without white micromentum *An orange anterior spiracle *Squama brown, margin often white; frons of male narrower, at narrowest, usually 0.14× head width or less; usually not restricted to northern or high elevation areas *Facial ridge with row of short, stout, supravibrissal setae, ascending from the vibrissae to a point almost halfway to antennal base; a second set of strong divergent ocellar setae about 2/3 the length of the anterior ocellars, surrounded by only a few sparse setae. Male genitalia shorter, with a chisel-shaped point. Frons of male broad, at narrowest, almost twice the width of parafacial at lunule, frons .24/12 head width; female frons .37/8 head width

Life cycle

The life cycle of ''Calliphora latifrons'' is similar to many other domestic flies, and is dependent on

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

. The eggs, which are yellowish or white in color, are deposited by the

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

into mostly moist, solid

organic matter Organic matter, organic material or natural organic matter is the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come fro ...

and are approximately 0.04 in long. The egg hatches after about 27 hours, and is prone to

desiccation Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container. The ...

. The eggs hatch into a

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

, or

maggot A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, hoverflies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and cr ...

, which passes through three

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'' 'form, likeness') is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, which occurs between each moult (''ecdysis'') until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to ...

s. The legless

maggots A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, hoverflies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and cran ...

are . Each instar stage is divided by a

molt In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...

. Entomologists are able to determine the instar stages by inspecting the posterior spiracles of the larvae. The first instar lasts around 22 hours, the second 14 hours, and the third instar, which is the longest, lasts 36 hours. After the third instar, the larvae tend to move towards drier areas and burrow into hiding to

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

te. In between the third instar and the pupa stage, there is an intermediate stage known as the prepupa. The prepupa lasts about 92 hours for ''C. latifrons''. The third stage of the life cycle is known as the

stage, and is very similar in susceptibility to the egg stage. This pupa stage tends to last 6 days, and is characterized by its hard, brown casing, whereabouts the larva transitions to the adult stage. The total immature time for these flies is 13 days.

Importance in forensic entomology

''Calliphora latifrons'' is one of the most forensically important species of blow flies. Urban entomology deals with the insects that affect humans and their immediate environment. This field includes a variety of problems for humans such as pest control issues and disease. ''C. latifrons'' is known to freely enter houses. There have been several cases where the flies enter homes and breed in the bodies of dead mice, resulting in larger amounts of flies. ''C. latifrons'' is also known for being a potential

vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

for disease. By ovipositing on their food as they feed the flies have the ability to transfer various

pathogens In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term ...

. Medicocriminal entomology deals with the carrion feeding insects that infest human remains. This area relies on correctly identifying arthropod species, approximating the age of the insects to determine the initial colonization and comparing that information with known arrival patterns of the adult species. After identifying the on the body, a time of death can be calculated, however, a forensic entomologist can never calculate an exact time of death, but rather a time span that tells them when that body was available for colonization. All this information gives investigators an estimation of a portion of the post mortem interval (PMI). ''C. latifrons'' usually breeds in small carcasses in rural areas. In only a few cases has it been found on human corpses. In February 2004, there was a case involving a dumped body in a rural area of San Jose, California. ''C. latifrons'' was found on a decaying corpse and helped investigators confirm how long the body had been there. ''C. latifrons'' is part of a group of carrion feeding flies in the western U.S. in which very little information exists.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5022715 Calliphoridae Insects described in 1899