Lucilia coeruleiviridis (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larval growth rates at three constant temperatures

Lucilia coeruleiviridis is one of the most common calliphorids in the Eastern US. Despite its ubiquity, almost nothing is known about its larval development, rendering it unusable for minimum postmortem interval (mPMI) estimates. Here, we report the results of rearing L. coeruleiviridis at 22°C, 29°C, and 36°C to determine egg mass survivorship and development time in hours to (and length of) first instar, second instar, third instar, and wandering stages. Larvae were more likely to die and grew more slowly when reared at 22°C compared to those reared at warmer temperatures. The mean development times until larvae began to wander were 89.95h at 22°C, 69.24h at 29°C, and 51.02h at 36°C. Regression analyses revealed a mean minimum developmental temperature of 9.8°C. Future studies using more temperatures, particularly warmer temperatures, are recommended, however, this study shows that L. coeruleiviridis growth is temperature dependent and this species develops best at warm temperatures, corresponding with its geographic distribution. Development times and minimum developmental temperatures presented here can be used for generating mPMI estimates using L. coeruleiviridis in the Southeastern US.