Maggots in the hot tub

Myiasis is the larval infestation of living tissues by Dipteran larvae, including humans. In forensics, myiasis plays a role in cases of abuse or neglect. Accurate temperatures are crucial for age determination of the larvae. An experiment was conducted to determine the difference between ambient temperature and temperature larvae experience when on a wound. Larvae were placed in a foil cup containing chicken liver. The cups were then placed into a water bath heated to approximately to 37°C. The temperatures inside the cups as well as the ambient temperature were collected every 30 seconds for the duration of the trials through a data logger. After running an anova on the data, it was found that there was a significant difference in the ambient temperature and the temperature within the cups. The f-ratio value found was 841.78851. The p-value is < .00001. Tukey post hoc tests showed that the ambient temperature was significantly different than all of the liver cups. Learning more about the difference between ambient temperature and the temperature of larval infested conditions can assist in the creation of more accurate estimates in relation to the timeline of myiasis. This information can then be used to further improve the investigation of cases of injury or death related to myiasis.