Cuticular hydrocarbon composition in pupal exuviae for taxonomic differentiation of six necrophagous flies.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze the cuticular hydrocarbons extracted from the pupal exuviae of six necrophagous flies: Aldrichina grahami (Aldrich), Chrysomya megacephala (F.), Lucilia sericata (Meigen), Achoetandrus rufifacies (Macquart), Boettcherisca peregrina (Robineau-Desvoidy), and Parasarcophaga crassipalpis (Macquart). A discriminant model including the variables of peak 1 (tricosane), peak 7 (9-,11-,13-methyl-pentacosane), peak 21 (11,12-;9,13-dimethyl-hexacosane), peak 24 (octocosane), peak 41 (7,11-dimethyl-nonacosane), peak 42 (3-methyl-nonacosane), peak 46 (2-methyl-hentriacontane), and peak 51 (unknown) was constructed, which allowed a complete separation of the pupal exuviae of the six species. These results indicate that cuticular hydrocarbons as chemotaxonomic characters for insects of forensic importance are of high value and feasibility.