Einfluss von Methadon auf die Entwicklung von Lucilia sericata

The greenbottle fly Lucilia sericata is an insect of great forensic interest for estimating the postmortem interval. The present study investigated the influence of methadone on the development of Lucilia sericata larvae. The results of the study showed a significant acceleration of larval development between day 3 and 5 when methadone is present in the food source. The total development times where shortened by up to 15 h in the group with therapeutic and toxic methadone concentrations. These results should be considered when undertaking forensic entomological examinations.