Lecture 4 Flashcards
What is the order and family of a carpet beetle?
order: colleoptera
family: dermestidae
Where are spiders found on corpses?
on clothing
T/F: spiders are accidental and are not carrion specialists.
True
what class are spiders?
arachnida
what is the species, genus, family, and order of a black blow fly?
Phormia regina, phormia, calliphoridae, and diptera
What are bed bugs evidence of?
body was indoors
what chemical is useful as bait for trapping flies and beetles?
hydrogen sulphide
traps supplimented with ___ and ___ attract greater number of beetles.
methyl thiolacetate and dimethyl trisulfide
T/F: Colonizing a carcass is distinct.
False
- waves of colonization overlap
- geographic and seasonal differences exist
What did Megnin identify in 1894?
8 invasion waves on human corpses
although this has been grouped together into as few as 2 stages by ecologists
What did Payne discover in 1965?
used pig carcasses and discovered 6 stages:
1. fresh
2. bloated
3. active decay
4. advanced decay
5. remains
6. dry
what did Bornmissza discover in 1957?
5 stages of decay:
1. initial decay (0-2 days)
2. putrefaction stage (2-12 days)
3. black putrefaction (12-20 days)
4. butyric fermentation (20-40 days)
5. dry decay (40-50 days)
what do adult silphidae feed on?
decaying material, carrion, fly larvae, snails
How do silphidae find carcasses?
via odor cues olfaction) through sensilla on terminal anntennal segments
what do silphidae sensilla detect?
hydrogen sulfide and cyclic carbon compounds
what do some adult silphidae carry?
nematodes and cestodes
What was the importance of rabies and anthrax studies?
rabies was deactivated in the gut of nicrophorus, but anthrax bacilli may be spread
What are the 4 mite families?
parasitidae (most common)
anoetidae
uropodidae
macrochelidae
What is the timeline of silphinae on carcass?
- female oviposit on soil around the carcass
- 2-7 days larvae hatch and move to carcass to feed
- 3 larval instars 1st 3-7 days, 2nd and 3rd 3-10 days
- pupate in soil, 14-21 days
- avoid competition with flies by waiting until fly maggots finish feeding
- beetle eggs hatch when 1st generation of flies are leaving carcass to pupate, about 5 days after oviposition by flies and beetles
- little to no parental care
What is the process of nicrophorinae on carcass?
- both parents bury into an underground crypt to rear offspring
- has biparental care
- breed in communities with large carcasses
- adults find small dead mouse then burrow into soil under carcass
- soil is pushed out and body sinks into the ground
- 1 beetle pair per carcass
- female digs tunnel and lays eggs within 48 hours
- males leave the chamber
Describe necrodes surinamensis
likes large carcasses and attracted to light
describe necrophila americana
late spring early summer, diurnal
describe oiceoptoma inaequale
early spring,
one generation per year,
diurnal
fringes of hair at eyes
describe oiceoptoma novaboracense
early spring
one generation
forested habitats
describe thanatophilus lapponicus
early spring
dominant species
often only one collected
a northern species
found in garbage or burning barrels
describe nicrophorinae physical attributes.
- elytra shorter than abdomen usually exposing 3-4 abdomenal tergites
- elytra usually with red/orange markings
- second antenal segment small hidden tip of 1st segment
describe silphinae physical attributes.
- elytra covers abdomen, or exposes 1-2 tergites
- second antennal segment not hidden, large
