Size does matter: intraspecific geometric morphometric analysis of wings of the blowfly Chrysomya albiceps (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract

Blowflies have forensic, sanitary and veterinary importance, as well as being pollinators, parasitoids and ecological bioindicators. There is still little work with real data and from experiments assessing the relationship between blowflies’ morphologic features and environmental and demographic factors. The present work tests whether the variation, in the shape and size, of Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819) wings is influenced by the following factors: 1) time; 2) temperature; 3) sex and; 4) different types of carcasses (pig, dog/cat and whale). Male and female wings from four different sites collected in six different years were used to obtain wing size and shape of C. albiceps. Analyses between wing shape and the variables tested had low explanatory power, even though they had statistical support. However, it was possible to identify differences in wing shape between males and females, with good returns in sex identification. The comparison between wing size and the variables tested showed that wing size has a negative relationship with temperature, significant differences between sexes, slight variation over time and no influence by carcass types. Furthermore, wing size influenced wing shape. Understanding population-specific characteristics of C. albiceps provide important insights about how the species reacts under specific conditions.