Survival After Submergence in the Pupae of Five Species of Blow Flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract

Survival of pupae of known ages after 1 to 5 d of submersion under water was assessed by determining the emergence of Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau-Desvoidy), Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy), Cochliomyia macellaria (F.), Phormia regina (Meigen), and Phaenicia sericata (Meigen). Survival after 1 d of submergence was < 14% in the white puparial stage, 0-100% in pharate adults nearing eclosion, and approximately 100% in pupae between these two stages. This pattern inversely tracks O2 consumption during metamorphosis. Twenty-five percent of the pupae of three species (P. terraenovae, P. regina, and P. sericata) produced normal adults after 4 d of submersion, but none after 5 d. Among survivors, the pupation period was extended by the duration of submersion. Pupae of C. vicina were least able to withstand drowning. These data are potentially useful in estimating duration of submergence of a corpse in forensic investigations where the corpse becomes submerged after the larvae have developed and pupariated.