DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2014.v02i11.001

Pages: 731-739

Insects identified on corpses have tremendous application in forensic sciences. In this article, we report, for the first time, in India, the complete life cycle of Sarcophaga (Liosarcophaga) dux Thomson (1869), identified on a carrion of the yellow-bellied house gecko (n=5), Hemidactylus flaviviridis Ruppel (1835).The life cycle of S. dux, on the dead gecko was studied under ambient conditions in the month of May in Kolkata, India, at 38 ± 30C temperatures, with relative humidity 18-53% and wind speed of 21± 8 km/h. Larval development time to pupation took 200 ± 2 h. The total completion of the life cycle of S. dux was studied for ~312 h. The light microscopic morphological study of the adult and the immature males and females confirmed the species S. dux. The observed study of the growth and attraction S. dux towards the carcass of H. flaviviridis could potentially indicate newer ways to prevent reptile poaching. Nearly 6 species of dipterans were identified on the carcass, but this is the first report of S. dux on dead gecko. This study will pave its path in the documentation of potential illegal poaching sites of Tokay geckos, being widely traded for extraction of drugs from eastern and north-eastern India.