| dc.description.abstract | Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) are both secondary colonizers of carrion (Brundage et al. 2014, Tomberlin et al. 2005). Chyrsomya rufifacies is a forensically important species often encountered on vertebrate remains, with adults arriving within minutes after death and suspected oviposition 1–2 days later (Baumgartner 1993). Hermetia illucens is also forensically relevant and has been seen arriving on remains within as little as two days, but little is known as to how they interact on carrion (Tomberlin et al. 2005). Consequently, these two species often feed on a common resource concurrently. When succession of these species occurs it can impact survivorship, size, and development time of the species in question. In this study, we will be looking at how succession affects H. illucens larvae when placed on an ephemeral resource after C. rufifacies larvae have completed its life cycle on the same source. If H. illucens immatures show differences when placed after C. rufifacies larvae, using H. illucens as an indicator of the time of colonization, could vary significantly. | en |
