Day 7: 22 June 2009

The pigs are still bloated and the number of maggots has increased on the carcasses. Instead of being concentrated in a few areas, the maggots have moved across the body and are actively feeding on the entire carcass. Adult flies were collected with sweep nets while maggots and beetles were collected from the carcasses and the pitfall traps.

Beetles

Collected at farm: Carrion beetles (Necrophila americana and Necrodes surinamensis), rove beetles (Platydracus spp. and Creophilus maxillosus), the small dung beetle (Onthophagus spp.) ground beetles (Dicaelus politus) and clown beetles (Hister spp.).

Collected at CSU: The hairy rove beetle Creophilus maxillosus.

Flies

Collected at farm: mostly Phormia regina and 1 Calliphora vicina.

Pig 1. Location: University Farm. The face has decomposed quickly and some of the bones can now be seen (Above). The maggots have moved across the carcass and are feeding on the tissues (Below).

Pig 6. Location: University Farm. There are maggots on the face, legs and spilling out from underneath. The thick white areas on the belly, legs and sides of the carcass are maggots.

Pig 3. Location: CSU. The carcass is still very bloated and skin is sloughing off, especially on the legs. There is a large maggot mass on the head and blowfly activity on the pig.

Pig 4. Location: CSU. More blowflies are present on the carcass, but maggots are mostly active on the face (Above). The pig is very bloated, including the abscess on the hind leg. The abscess is getting some attention from blowflies looking to deposit eggs on the swollen mass (Below).

Submitted by Krystal Hans, MS student, Cleveland State University, 23 July 2009.

Day 6: 21 June 2009

The pig carcasses are in the bloated stage of decomposition. The smell is very pungent and the maggot activity is increasing. As maggots mature, they reach a post-feeding stage in which they will move off of a carcass in search of a dry, cool place where they can burrow in the ground and pupate. After about 1 week, adult flies will emerge from the puparium. In order to capture maggots or beetles dispersing from the carcass, pitfall traps were placed around each pig. These traps consist of a container buried in the ground 30 cm from the carcass in each direction (N, S, E, and W) and alcohol poured in the preserve any specimens that become trapped.

Adult flies were collected from each pig as well as maggots for preservation and rearing. Beetles and ants were sampled if available.

Pig 1. Location: University Farm. Pig is very bloated; skin is sloughing off in some areas (Above). Large maggots are feeding on the face, exposing bone and teeth (Middle). Very large maggot mass on the hind leg and underside of the pig (Below).

Pig 4. Location: CSU. Blowfly activity and large egg mass on face and near hind leg (Above). Abscess on leg is bloated and discolored (Middle). Ants crawl across the eggs on the face; maggots feed in the mouth (Below).

Pig 5. Location: University Farm. Blowfly activity on the carcass; skin is sloughing off the bloated pig (Above). Close up of the belly showing the activity (Below).

Submitted by Krystal Hans, MS student, Cleveland State University, 7 July 2009.

Day 5: 20 June 2009

Due to heavy rain this morning there was little activity by adult blow flies while collecting, but the size of the egg masses on the carcasses continue to grow, indicating that blow flies are still present.

At the farm large maggots were collected from each pig for preservation and for rearing to the adult stage for identification. Carrion beetles were collected from pigs 5 and 6, the pigs moved from CSU to the farm. Due to the rain no adult flies were sampled.

At CSU the pigs are bloated and a few adult blow flies are inspecting the carcasses. Although no beetles were collected, the largest maggots present were collected from each pig for preservation and rearing. Adult flies were captured with a sweep net from one of the pigs.

Pig 1. Location: University Farm. Eggs on the hind legs, rear and neck regions of the carcass (Above). Maggots actively feeding on the face, which is decomposing quickly (Below).

Pig 5. Location: University Farm. Most egg masses are on the head and neck and appear as thick white clumps on the carcass (Above). Close up of a large egg mass on the cheek with adult blow fly; maggots feeding in mouth and nose (Below).

Pig 3. Location: CSU. Maggots feeding on facial tissue.

Pig 4. Location: CSU. Ants are present on the eyeball and small egg masses have been laid on the face (Above). Small maggots were collected from the mouth. A blow fly is examining the abscess on the hind leg, which continues to swell (Below).

Submitted by Krystal Hans, MS student, Cleveland State University, 6 July 2009.

Day 4: 19 June 2009

As decomposition progresses, the number of blow flies present on the carcasses increases. The pigs are becoming more bloated and the number of both eggs and maggots is increasing. Small maggots were collected from each carcass for preservation and for rearing.

Beetles

Collected at farm: Carrion beetles Oiceoptoma noveboracense and Necrophila americana; rove beetles Platydracus spp.

Flies

Collected at farm: Mostly Phormia regina, the black blow fly and a few Lucilia illustris and Lucilia coeruleiviridis, common green bottle flies. These species are often the first to arrive on carrion.

Collected at CSU: Mostly P. regina and a few L. coeruleiviridis.

Most of the pig carcasses are covered with blow flies, evident by their numbers on the cage and lean-to.

Pig 1. Location: University Farm. Blow flies have deposited even more egg masses on the legs, neck and face (Above) and maggots are actively feeding, especially in and around the mouth (Below).

Pig 6. Location: University Farm. More blow flies are present on the carcass, depositing eggs on the head and in the mouth. Carcass is becoming more bloated due to bacterial gasses (Above). Egg masses on the head and neck and blow flies filling the mouth and nose (Below).

Pig 3. Location: CSU. Carcass has many blow flies, especially near the natural body openings of the mouth, eyes and nose.

Pig 4. Location: CSU. Although this pig is placed about 50 meters from the other pig in the urban location, there are very few blow flies and little insect activity other than the ants present on the eyeball. The abscess on the hind leg continues to become bloated.

Submitted by Krystal Hans, MS student, Cleveland State University, 4 July 2009.

Day 3: 18 June 2009

The pig carcasses from the urban site (CSU) have been moved to the rural site at University Farm. They were placed 50 meters apart and were enclosed with cages and a lean-to. Decomposition and insect activity will be monitored daily to investigate the presence of an invertebrate signature associated with the carcasses.

Blow flies have continued to lay eggs on the pigs, mostly on the soft tissues on the head or in the folds of skin on the body. These areas provide protection from the environment and also ensure that the eggs will remain moist.

Some eggs have matured into maggots and are feeding on the soft tissues. This seems to be more apparent in the rural site, especially for the pigs originally placed at the farm (Pigs 1 and 2). The moved carcasses (Pigs 5 and 6) show only a few egg masses which have yet to mature. In the city however, the ants have carried away many of the eggs from the body, leaving only a few maggots in the mouth of pig 3. Pig 4, the carcass with the abscess on its leg, has many ants covering the eyeball and in the mouth. Due to the ant activity, there are few eggs, none of which have matured into maggots.

Pig 1. Location: University Farm. More egg masses on the hind legs (Above). Eggs have matured into maggots and are consuming the eyes, mouth and nose of the pig (Below).

Pig 4. Location: CSU. Abscess on hind leg is bloated. Ants cover the eyeball and mouth, removing eggs laid by blow flies.

Pig 6. Location: University Farm, moved from CSU. Egg masses on cheek and in between eyes, but haven't matured into maggots. Ants are present on the face.

Maggots were collected from all 6 carcasses for preservation and for rearing to the adult stage. Ants were also sampled if present.

Submitted by Krystal Hans, MS student, Cleveland State University, 2 July 2009

Day 2: 17 June 2009

The pigs were placed 24 hours ago and already there has been blow fly activity. Blow flies are often the first to colonize a corpse due to their excellent sense of smell, laying their eggs on the soft tissues usually around natural body openings or open wounds. Two of the pigs at CSU will be moved to University Farm this afternoon.

Pig 1. Location: University Farm. Eggs have been deposited on the hind leg.

Pig 2. Location: University Farm. Blow flies have deposited eggs in eyes and mouth.

While the pigs at the farm have had blow fly activity, the pigs at CSU have a large number of ants swarming on the carcasses as well. The ants are scavengers, feeding on fly eggs and maggots.

Pig 4. Location: CSU. Large number of ants on the eyeball, collecting blow fly eggs from the eye and mouth of the pig (Above). The abscess on the hind leg is more swollen (Below).

Pig 6. Location: CSU, to be moved to farm. This pig has a few eggs on its nose and in the mouth (not visible in this picture).

Eggs were collected from all 6 pig carcasses. 25 of the eggs will be placed in alcohol and preserved and 25 other eggs will be placed in a container to rear to the adult stage for identification.

Submitted by Krystal Hans, MS student, Cleveland State University, 1 July 2009.