CHARACTERIZATION OF THE INTERNAL GENITALIA IN FEMALES OF Lucilia sericata AND L. cuprina (DIPTERA: CALLIPHORIDAE)

Abstract

Forensic entomology is an auxiliary discipline that studies arthropods related to the stages of decomposition. Identifying the first colonizers, which are mostly females of the order Diptera, attracted by the opportunity to feed and ensure the offspring of their species, can serve as a biological clock and estimate the time of death or Postmortem Interval (PMI), hence the importance of correctly determining the species. Lucilia sericata and L. cuprina are species with a high degree of similarity that generates identification doubts when there is deterioration of the material, either due to conservation or because of the specimen being captured. Therefore, it is necessary to develop identification alternatives that can avoid these difficulties. The 10% KOH clarification technique is a useful tool for observing the internal genitalia of females, which allows the separation of structures of taxonomic interest. The objective was to generate the first description of the internal genitalia of females of two species with a high degree of similarity using a 10% KOH clarification technique, allowing differences in the structures to be observed. In L. sericata, the spermathecae have three points, while in L. cuprina they are shell-shaped; the hypoproct is more prominent and widened in L. cuprina, whereas in L. sericata it is shorter and remains external to the cerci. Another structure of interest is the cerci; L. sericata has wider cerci from the middle to the distal portion, while L. cuprina has narrower cerci.