Development of Musca domestica at constant temperatures and the first case report of its application for estimating the minimum postmortem interval

Musca domestica Linnaeus, 1758 (Diptera: Muscidae) is an important cosmopolitan pest with potential forensic value. Thus, the investigation of the development of M. domestica is of vital significance both for the control of its colony and for the estimation of the minimum postmortem interval (PMImin). This study observed the development of M. domestica at seven constant temperatures in the range of 16-34 °C; factors such as developmental duration, accumulated degree hours, and changes in larval body length were examined. Using these results, three developmental models that could be used for PMImin estimation were established: an isomorphen diagram, an isomegalen diagram, and a thermal summation model. The mean (±SD) developmental durations of M. domestica from egg to adult at 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, and 34 °C were 884.6 ± 7.4, 627.2 ± 23.0, 437.5 ± 11.0, 297.0 ± 8.8, 226.4 ± 6.3, 190.4 ± 4.2, and 155.3 ± 5.5 h, respectively. The mean (±SE) developmental threshold temperature D0 and the thermal summation constant K were determined as 12.42 ± 0.64 °C and 3658.9 ± 301.3 degree hours, respectively. Using regression analysis, we obtained equations that model the change in larval body length with time after hatching and change in time after hatching with larval body length. Based on the developmental data obtained, we successfully utilized the development of M. domestica to estimate PMImin for the first time.