Authors : H. Nihal Acikgoz, L. Elmas Kilincarslan and Ali Acikgoz
Abstract: The objective of the present study was to investigate food choices of blowflies that have forensic importance and that feed on cadavers and to determine whether they prefer fresh or processed meat. Bovine meat 100 g and cat food 100 g were placed on traps which were put in cages hanged on the campus of Ankara University, Faculty of Medicine. The larvae developed in the bovine meat and in cat food were killed in boiling water. Species from Diptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera families were detected and families and species of the insects were determined. The number of adult insects and larvae demonstrated that the species preferred the bovine meat rather than cat food. Food preferences of insects feeding on cadavers are very important in forensic entomology. The insects in the present study opted for bovine meat instead of cat food. However, further experiments and observations are needed in order to confirm food preferences of the insect species likely to be used in solving judicial cases.
H. Nihal Acikgoz, L. Elmas Kilincarslan and Ali Acikgoz, 2012. Bovine Meat Versus Cat Food. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 11: 3323-3326.