A body is discovered at 5:30 AM outdoors in summer. Fresh blowfly eggs are found in the nostrils. When estimating the minimum postmortem interval from these eggs, the entomologist must first consider that:
- A Calliphorid flies rarely oviposit in darkness, so the eggs were most likely laid the previous evening and the interval must be counted from then ✓
- B Blowflies deposit live larvae rather than eggs, so egg age equals adult flight time plus one full instar
- C Egg deposition occurs only within the first hour after death, so the eggs fix the time of death precisely
- D Nocturnal oviposition is the norm for Chrysomya, so the eggs were laid shortly before dawn discovery
Correct answer: A. Calliphorid flies rarely oviposit in darkness, so the eggs were most likely laid the previous evening and the interval must be counted from then
Explanation
Most blowfly species are diurnal ovipositors and essentially cease laying once light falls below threshold, so fresh eggs on a dawn-discovered body indicate oviposition the preceding evening unless nocturnal activity is specifically demonstrated. Option C fails because colonisation requires the body to be accessible, and delay from hours to days is common indoors or in wrapped bodies.
Reference: Knight's Forensic Pathology, 4th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.