Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy as a Method for Identifying Variation in Puparial Morphology and Establishing Characters for Taxonomic Determination.

ABSTRACT: Calliphoridae, or blow flies, are of much ecological and practical importance given their roles in decompositional ecology, medical and veterinary myiasis, and forensic entomology. As ephemeral and rapidly developing species, adults are frequently not present for identification, but puparia (the remaining outer integument of the third instar larvae) are frequently found. These heavily sclerotized remains are stable in the environment but they are of a conservative character. Historically, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been used for characterization, a technique which is not only time-consuming but also often expensive, effectively making large numbers of specimens impossible to quantify. As an alternative, confocal laser scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) was tested for utility in p

SUBMITTER: Elowsky C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11766249 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature