The following is the abstract of my report:Abstract
Although the Post Mortem Interval (PMI) can be determined by examining various physiological changes in the body since death, determination of PMI using entomological indicators such as insect larvae is proven to be much accurate and reliable. The stadial growth of blowfly larvae on a dead body is influence by various factors and this in turn would affect the accuracy of estimation of PMI. Previous experiments have suggested that the body tissue on which the blowfly larvae feed affects their growth and hence the determination of PMI using their body lengths. This experiment was done to test weather there is a difference in the growth rate of Lucilia sericata larvae when they are fed on different meats which represent different tissues in a typical human body. The experiment was performed in a closed laboratory where the temperature and other conditions such as temperature which might influence the growth of larvae were uncontrolled yet were taken account of. Commercially bought larvae were bread to obtain flies which were then allowed to lay eggs and develop into larvae. Thirty larvae were allowed to feed on the three different types of meat, each placed in a separate container. The change in the length of the maggots was measured for a period of 5 days until there was no further change. Statistical analysis of data shows that the growth rate of larvae in beef flesh (1.60 mm/day) is significantly higher than those fed in chicken flesh (1.37 mm/day) and beef liver (1.35 mm/day). The test also showed that there was no significant difference between the growth rates of larvae fed on chicken flesh and beef liver. The results of the experiment is in agreement with a more extensive study focused on the same topic, performed by Day and Wallman (2006).
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