Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, UK.
Int J Legal Med. 2013 Jan;127(1):231-41. doi: 10.1007/s00414-012-0683-9. Epub 2012 Mar 8.
The size of immature blowflies is a common measure to estimate the minimum time between death and the discovery of a corpse, also known as the minimum post-mortem interval. This paper investigates the effects of preservation, in 80% ethanol, on the length and weight of first instar, second instar, feeding third instar, and post-feeding third instar Calliphora vicina larvae, at three different storage temperatures. For each larval stage, the length of larvae was recorded after 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, 9 h, 12 h, 24 h, 72 h, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, 91 days, 182 days, 273 days, and 365 days of storage in 80% ethanol, at -25°C, 6°C and 24°C. Storage temperature had no statistically significant effect on the change in larval length and weight for all larval stages, but larval length and weight were significantly affected by the duration of preservation for first, second, and feeding third instar larvae, but not for post-feeding larvae. Generally, first and second instar larvae reduced in size over time, while feeding third instar larvae increased slightly in size, and post-feeding larvae did not change in size over time. The length of blowfly larvae preserved in 80% ethanol is not affected by constant storage temperatures between -25°C and +24°C, but we recommend that forensic entomologists should use the models provided to correct for changes in larval length that do become apparent over time.
未成熟蝇类的大小是估计死亡和发现尸体之间的最短时间（即死后间隔时间）的常用方法。本文研究了在三种不同储存温度下，80%乙醇保存对 1 龄、2 龄、取食 3 龄和取食后 3 龄丽蝇幼虫长度和体重的影响。对于每个幼虫阶段，在 80%乙醇中储存 0 h、3 h、6 h、9 h、12 h、24 h、72 h、7 天、14 天、30 天、91 天、182 天、273 天和 365 天后，记录幼虫的长度，储存温度分别为-25°C、6°C 和 24°C。对于所有幼虫阶段，储存温度对幼虫长度和体重的变化均无统计学显著影响，但幼虫长度和体重受到 1 龄、2 龄和取食 3 龄幼虫保存时间的显著影响，但取食后幼虫的长度和体重不受影响。一般来说，1 龄和 2 龄幼虫随时间减小，而取食 3 龄幼虫的体型略有增加，取食后幼虫的体型随时间不变。保存在 80%乙醇中的蝇类幼虫的长度不受-25°C 和+24°C 之间恒定储存温度的影响，但我们建议法医昆虫学家应使用提供的模型来纠正随时间变化而明显的幼虫长度变化。
