Cephalopharyngeal skeleton morphometry of Hypopygiopsis violacea (Macquart) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) - A preliminary assessment for its application in forensic entomology

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the consistency of larval body length and cephalopharyngeal skeleton of third instar larvae, Hypopygiopsis violacea (Macquart) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) at 0, 7 and 14-day storage intervals. During third instar feeding stage, larvae were killed in hot water, preserved in 70% ethanol and body length was measured. Cephalopharyngeal skeleton was cleared using 10% KOH and mounted on slides using Euparal. Cephalopharyngeal skeleton of third instar H. violacea larvae were weakly correlated with their body length (p